Old World Soldier: A Brave New World
by ChopChop21
Summary: When Lt. Gaz Patterson volunteers for a stasis assignment, she unknowingly saves herself from the Nuclear Armageddon of 2077. After being frozen in time for 200 years, a mysterious Courier accidentally wakes her up. If she wants to make a place for herself in the desolate Mojave Wasteland, then she must learn to trust her new teacher and friend. Revolves around Honest Hearts addon
1. Unwanted Awakening

Gaz and her superiors walked down the clean white halls and through the blast doors. Behind the thick metal door was the Stasis Laboratory.

"You should feel honored Lieutenant, this program will insure that we will have good soldiers in the future." Her commander said

"I know sir, but I'm still having second thoughts about this whole thing."

"Don't worry, Biostasis is a perfectly harmless procedure. Just step into the tube, you go to sleep and we'll wake you up when we need you."

"Well… Ok." Gaz said reluctantly

Several scientists in white coats were gathered around the stasis tube. There were other tubes with other soldiers in stasis in the room as well. Gaz stepped in, the three inch thick Plexiglas door clicked and hissed shut. A strange smelling gas filled the chamber and Gaz was instantly out cold.

Biostasis causes subjects to have particularly vivid dreams, it makes time pass unbelievably quickly. Gaz dreamt of her life before the army, her parents, her house, her brothers and old neighborhood. Then of her time in Alaska fighting the Chinese, of their massive cliff side guns pounding her position, their terrifying hover-tanks and stealth suits and the satisfying victory America achieved over the communist invaders. She was in the middle of raising an American Flag over a re-taken oil refinery when she heard a massive metallic groan. Her eyes snapped open. She was in her stasis tube, but it was different. The outside of the crystal clear polished Plexiglas was now covered in dust and grime, so thick she could barely see out of it. What little she could see through the filth surprised her. The Stasis lab was deserted, the pure white walls were now stained grey and yellow with age. Was this real life? Was this just another lucid biostasis dream? She pulled the emergency hasp on the inside of the Stasis tube and the door creaked open. A wave of stale smelling air rushed into the tube. She stepped into the empty lab, it was dead quiet, only the dull hum of the back-up generator filled the room. Goose bumps formed over her skin, if this was a dream it was all too real. The emergency lighting flickered. Her fear rose when she heard a loud banging on one of the other tubes. It sounded like someone was trapped inside, trying to escape.

"Hang on! I'll get you out of there!" She said and hit the release on the tube door.

She was expecting another stasis subject, just as afraid and confused as she was. But as soon as the door slid open, her heart shot into her throat. It looked like a corpse, but it started to move. It growled through a mouthful of cracked and rotten teeth. She stepped back, it snapped its jaws and sprang out of the tube. She was too scared to move, the living corpse pounced on her and began to maul her with bony and rotten fists. A blow to her head jolted her back into her senses. She clawed at the 10mm pistol on her belt. Gaz jammed the barrel into its mouth and pulled the trigger. The seemingly undead creature went limp as the bullet passed through its brain. She pushed the body off her and got to her feet. She was so scared she was shaking. Another stasis container began to make noise. She cautiously wiped away the dirt on the Plexiglas tube. In an instant, a rotten face was pressed against the glass, trying to break through. She backed away, the creature pounded on the tube and made muffled growls at her.

"This is just a dream. Just another fucked up and lucid stasis dream."

The lights flickered again followed by an explosion from behind the blast door. The rapid crackle of a machinegun echoed through the halls and through the blast door. The gunfire sounded like it was getting closer. The heavy mechanical door suddenly retraced open. A blood splattered figure came stumbling through and hit the controls, the door whirred shut. Gaz hid behind a tube, her pistol at the ready. It was a man, mid-twenties, in ancient looking combat armor with grungy blonde blast-back hair, and several rifles strapped to his backpack. He jabbed a stimpack into his chest and let the empty syringe fall to the floor. He was clutching a Thompson submachine gun with smoke drifting off the barrel. He popped out the empty drum magazine out and reached into his pack for a fresh one. With his unshaven face and scraggly hair, Gaz knew this man was obviously not part of the U.S. armed forces. What caught her attention the most, was the Pib-Boy on his wrist. It was just like the one she had, and aside from herself and a few other soldiers in her unit, the army didn't trust many people with Pib-Boys . As he reloaded, Gaz slipped out of her hiding place and crept up behind him. The man froze mid-reload, then he quickly crammed the new mag in and spun around to face her. Before he could point the gun at her she swatted the barrel away and moved in quickly. Before he had time to react, Gaz had put the muzzle of her pistol under his chin and slammed him against a stasis tube.

"Listen here intruder, I want answers! Who the fuck are you!? What the hell is going on!? And where did you get the Pib-Boy?! You better not have stolen it…" She demanded and pressed the pistol deep into his neck.

"Ok, ok, calm down. I think we got off to a bad start, why don't we just put the guns down eh?" The man said, he had a slight twang to his ascent and was strangely unfazed by the pistol in his throat, as if this was all part of his day.

"Don't fuck around with me!" She jabbed him in the chin with the barrel and cocked the hammer of the pistol

"Madam I give you my word that I will do absolutely no fucking around with you. Now if you remove your finger from the trigger, I will answer your questions." He said calmly

Gaz slowly took her finger off the trigger and placed it on the side of the gun.

"That's a good girl…" He said and quickly moved his head away from the pistol

With his left hand, he grabbed her pistol and violently pushed it back into her face, the sharp corner of the gun's slide cut her lip open then the gun clattered to the ground. His right hand shot into his trousers and pulled a compact .45 auto pistol out of what appeared to be his underpants. He raised a steel toed boot and kicked her back. She fell back onto another stasis tube, and woke up the ghoul trapped inside. Gaz was still recoiling from the blow to her face when she realized her situation: She was trapped between a gun wielding stranger and an undead monster in a tube. As the ghoul growled and tried to break out, the stranger took a deep breath and composed himself.

"In the wasteland you have the right to take a stranger's life. But a stranger has the right to take yours as well." He said with a slight smirk

"You get that FUCKING gun away from my head!" She hissed

"Can we cool it with the foul language please? Only Fiends and Raiders curse that much… Anyway how the hell did you get down here before me? That blast door was unpowered and sealed shut before I tuned the power back on." He said

"Lieutenant Gaz Patterson, Serial number: 006764 of the 251st armored division. That's all I'm telling you!"

"Oh I see! Name, rank and serial number. Are you an NCR soldier?" He asked, with a strange politeness in his voice.

"No you idiot! I'm a soldier in the U.S. army!" She said proudly

"The U.S. army? Heh, that's cute kid. Seriously, where you from? And who are you loyal to?"

"Lieutenant Gaz-" She began but the stranger cut her off

"-Patterson, Serial number: 006764 of the 251st armored division. Yeah I got that part. Are you an agent of the Legion? The Brotherhood?"

"Lieut-"

"STOP WITH THE U.S. ARMY BULLSHIT. There is no U.S. army! Now tell me who you work for, or so help me god I'll carve that serial number into your forehead!"

"What do you mean there is no U.S. army? How long was I out? Did the Commies win?" Gaz asked

The stranger's face dropped. He looked at the empty stasis tube then back at her. He took in her clean and spotless uniform compared to his filthy and ragged armor and then her neatly kept military-styled pony-tail in contrast to his dirty mop of hair. Something clicked in his brain.

"You were in one of those tubes, weren't you?"

"None of your damn business."

"So that's a yes. What year did they put you in that tube?" He asked

"…2074" Gaz said reluctantly

"Oh my god… You have no idea what happened. Do you?" He seemed worried

"What's happened?"

The stranger opened his mouth but before he could speak a deep clanging arose from the other side of the door.

"They know we're here. Listen, I don't know you and you don't know me. But if you want to make in out of here alive we'll have to trust each other" he said lowering the .45

"What's on the other side?" She asked

He pointed to the ghoul trapped in the tube "About 60 of those"

"Oh god…"

"Between the two of us, we can take em'" He said and pulled a light machinegun off his backpack.

"Here, take this." He said and handed her the LMG, she was shocked he would so willingly give a weapon to someone who had just tried to tried to kill him

The stranger then picked up his tommy gun and placed his hand over the door control.

"When I open this door… Be ready."

He hit the button and the old doors quickly opened. A ghoul in a decrepit suit of combat armor came sprinting through the door. It was quickly cut down by a burst from the stranger. Gaz just stood there watching the stranger systematically shoot the creatures.

"You wanna give me a hand?!" He yelled

Gaz ripped the trigger on the MG. It roared to life in a long automatic burst. She swept the arch of gunfire across the hallway cutting down a few ghouls.

"HEY! If you're gonna shoot that thing you better shoot it correctly!" The stranger yelled.

He sounded just like her old drill instructor, when he said 'shoot it correctly' he meant fire in bursts. She eased off the trigger and shot in three round spurts. She heard his tommy gun click empty and saw six more of the creatures running full speed at him. He whipped out the .45 and raised his right arm. He tapped the V.A.T.S key and let the computer do the rest. Before the half-dead creatures could get to him he quickly and cleanly put a large pistol round into each of their heads in a gory shower. His movements seemed mechanical like a well-oiled machine. He quickly reloaded his tommy gun and continued firing. When the last ghoul hit the ground riddled with bullets, the stranger turned to Gaz.

"Follow me and listen very carefully." He said walking out the blast doors.

"Not so fast" She said pointing the LMG at him

" Oh not this shit again..." The stranger said and withdrew a grenade from his pocket. He pulled the pin but held down the safety leaver on the explosive. "Go ahead. Shoot me. See what happens."

"Are you crazy!? Those stasis tubes are full of explosive liquid oxygen! You'll kill us both!" Gaz screamed

"That's the idea honey. Now you can drop that there gun and I'll deactivate this here grenade, and we can both live a little longer. OR, you can shoot me, I drop the grenade and we both get blasted straight to hell." The stranger said examining the explosive

She lowered the LMG "Fine. But lose that 'honey' bullshit"

"Very well, _Ms .Patterson_." He said and put the pin back into the grenade.

"That's Lt. Patterson to you."

"Not any more it ain't. Now listen up. In the year 2077 one of the Nuclear powers launched an atomic attack, which led to all the other nuclear powers launching their own WMDs. Ms. Patterson, if you were telling the truth about that stasis tube, I'm afraid I have some bad news…"

"No… This can't be real. This has to be a dream. Nuclear war? Command always said it would never happen…"

"Well they lied, as most governments do. And the sooner you accept your new reality the better." He said

"I'll believe this when I see it…."

She followed the stranger to the stairwell entrance, it was locked. The stranger got down on one knee and inserted a bobby pin and screw driver and began to pick. Gaz scoffed

"That lock was designed by the army engineer core, there is no way you can-"

"Done" The stranger said and pushed the door open

The two climbed the stairs and tuned a corner, Gaz glanced down at his wrist-computer.

"Where'd you get the Pib-Boy?"

"Friend gave it to me. It is by far the best survival tool a guy could ask for."

They continued climbing, there was a door labeled "emergency exit"

"Now brace yourself Ms. Patterson. For this is your new world." He pushed the door open.

A harsh sunlight flooded the halls. Gaz stepped outside, when her eyes adjusted to the light, she gasped. The Military Base was in shambles and was deserted. There was decades of accumulated trash strewn about the ground. The road leading up to the base was crammed with the rusted out bodies of cars that had been abandoned when the EMP from the nuclear blasts disabled them.

"Ms. Patterson, the year is now 2277. You've been asleep for over 200 years."

Gaz turned pale, everything and everyone she had known or loved was now gone. She dropped the gun and fell to her knees.

"You… You were right…"

"I'm sorry you had to wake up to this."

"I knew I should never have accepted that assignment!" She spat

"Oh I wouldn't say that. Where'd you live before the war?"

"Salt Lake City." She said

"Well I wouldn't complain then. I reckon your stasis assignment effectively saved your life. Salt Lake City got hit REALLY bad in the Great War."

"What!? It did?! Oh god… my parents… I… I need to go to Salt Lake City... I need to see…" Gaz could barely speak.

"Why? SLC is an irradiated hell-hole. Nothing there but Centaurs and Super Mutants."

"I need to see my house, that's why!"

"And what do you intend to find there? A charred skeleton? Perhaps the shadow of a man permanently etched into cement by atomic fire?"

"Look, It's just something I need to do. I appreciate your help, but I'll be on my way." Gaz said walking out the gate on onto the crumbling highway

"You ain't gonna last a day out there by yourself, I'll go with you." The stranger said

"This is something I need to do by myself." She said

"Fine, but I want my machinegun back." He said and outstretched his arm. Gaz handed it to him and walked away without even a goodbye

"Don't complain when a raider is pickin' your corpse clean." He called after her

"Fuck off…" She said and turned around to flip off the stranger. As soon as she looked behind her, the stranger was gone, without a trace. She looked all around, but the stranger was nowhere to be found. Gaz took a deep breath of the bitter tasting air and started walking down the crumbling highway.


	2. Bittersweet Memories

About a mile down the road she began to wish the stranger had gone with her. The post-apocalyptic world had an eerie quality, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It wasn't all the skeletons still wearing rags of clothing, it wasn't the sour tasting air, or the ultraviolet sun. It wasn't even the mutilated body of a man tied to a sign post with barbed wire. It was the complete and utter lack of people, of life, of cars rushing down the highway, and the slight hum of the street lights. It was the fact that everything she knew about life and how to live it had been turned upside down.

"Hey little girl, that's a nice set of clothes you got there. You should give them to me so they don't get dirty." A raspy voice from behind her said

Gaz turned around to see a woman pointing a rusty leaver action shotgun at her. The woman was wearing an odd helmet with a goat skull tied to the top, and was wearing a set of clothes made of leather , she looked like an S&M dominatrix.

"Excuse me?" Gaz said

The raider peeled her lips back in a smile that reviled a set of brown teeth. "You're new to the wastes… Ya see, you take your nice clean clothes and you take your little gun there and just give them to me and if you're lucky I won't kill you…"

Gaz thought for a minute. She knew making a grab for her 10mm was suicide. Then she got an idea

"Hey Hey, Just calm down! Look I'll give you everything, just take your finger off the trigger, and I'll give you all I got!" Gaz said in her sappiest voice and began to slowly unbutton her uniform.

"Ha! It's my lucky day! Not even a struggle." The raider said and lowered the shotgun

Gaz slowly walked forward, continuing to unbutton her field jacket.

"That's right bitch, c'mere and gimmie your stuff." The raider chuckled

Gaz took off her jacket and acted like she was about to hand it over, but as soon as the raider extended her hand to take it, Gaz seized her by the head and in one quick motion, snapped her neck. It sounded like someone breaking a wooden stick wrapped in a wet towel. The raider silently slid onto the ground, a thin line of blood dripping out her ear. It wasn't the first time she had killed someone, her time in Alaska saw to that, but she still felt something. Like a little voice inside her head which told her "That was a human life you just ended." Even if it was just a hopeless drug addict. She picked up the raiders' shotgun - a rusty old lever-gun that barely worked, a stimpak, and 10 shotgun shells before left. Even though the highway was empty for miles in both directions, she couldn't help but think that she was being watched.

She had hiked for the better part of a day when she passed the remains of the Great Salt Lake. The lake was more like a big shallow pond, she remembered it much larger and deeper. On the horizon was the remains of Salt Lake City, but the tall skyscrapers weren't there, the nuclear blast had cut them down – like a massive, supersonic chain saw, leaving only the jagged stumps of broken concrete and twisted metal. Before the war, her parents had lived in a suburbs on the out skirts of the city. When she found her old neighborhood, what she saw surprised her. The houses were almost completely preserved; they were located just outside the primary zone of impact so many of the buildings were spared. Aside from shattered windows, a few over turned cars and debris thrown into the area by the blast, her neighborhood was just as she had left it. Gaz went to the last house on the left – her house – and took the spare key out from under the mat. The lock clicked open and she stepped inside. A strange feeling began to well up from within her, a bittersweet feeling composed of fond memories and the regret of not being with her family when the bombs hit. When she entered the living room her heart broke, sitting on the couch was a pair skeletons wrapped in each other's arms. Her parents. She took comfort in knowing that they died together. She took the wedding rings off their fingers and put the gold bands on her dog tag chain. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she walked up stairs to her brother's rooms. They were empty, she knew her older brother Grant had been deployed in the annexed Canada and her younger brother Jim deployed in the invasion of China, finding their bodies was hopeless. She took her older brother's class ring and younger brother's pen knife and added them to her chain. She glanced in her room, it was virtually untouched. Bed still made, books organized, clothes still in dresser. She picked up her childhood diary and laid down on the bed. She flipped through the old journal, the ancient pages slowly crumbling as she turned the pages. As she became nostalgic, she heard the door open and a thump from the down stairs. She readied the shotgun and crept out the door. She had spent her childhood here devising ways to sneak out of the house at night, so she was an expert at moving silently through this house. She peeked over the stairs railing but the downstairs looked deserted, the only difference was the door was swinging open. The thump sounded again, this time from the kitchen. She quietly moved forward into the next room. She then quickly spun around the corner, gun ready and froze.

Standing in her kitchen was what appeared to be a massive living pile of flesh. There were six human-looking arms jutting out the sides of the monster and it had a human torso and head. The creepiest part was the beast's three tongues. The monster just stood there observing her before making a grab at her with one of its tongues. She squealed and blasted the monster three times with the shotgun, the third shot blew it's head off. Gaz reloaded and ran into the living room, another one of these monsters had poked its head through the front door. She shot it twice in the torso, it opened its massive jaws and made a gurgling sound. It then spat a ball of rancid smelling bile which hit her square in the chest. The smell was so bad it made her eyes sting and well up. She ran back through the kitchen and jumped over the now headless corpse of the mutant. Bursting out the back door, she tripped over a piece of broken concrete and fell face first onto the ground. She heard heavy footsteps behind her, she turned around to see a enormous green humanoid marching toward her.

"I got one! I got a human!" his huge voice boomed

She raised the shotgun a fired a round into his gut. The super mutant hunched over, Gaz worked the leaver on the shotgun but it jammed.

"Shit!" She tried to get to her feet. The mutant kicked her back down and pressed the barrel of a hunting rifle against the back of her head.

"I will eat like a king tonight!" The voice yelled

Gaz bit her lip. This wasn't how she imagined her death. She always thought she would die on the battlefield or die of old age, but not face down in her own back yard. As she lay there, trapped beneath a massive steel plated boot, a rifle pressed against her head, she felt an odd calmness pass over her; at least she would die close to her family. A gunshot rang out, she felt warm blood trickle and pool all around her. The weird part was she felt no pain. The heavy boot stepped off of her back and a massive green body fell down beside her. The colossal corpse had a huge caliber hole in its forehead. She got to her feet, stunned that she wasn't dead. Her fresh, clean uniform had been soaked in blood and bile.

"Seen enough?" a voice from behind her said

She turned around ,it was the stranger. He was holding a smoking leaver action brush gun.

"How did you find me?" She said wiping the bloody slime off

"Followed you. I ain't too bad at staying out of sight." He said and slipped a cartridge into the loading port on his gun

"I can handle myself thank you!" Gaz said smugly

"Well obviously not. You just had a gun to your head for the second time today."

"What do you want?" She asked

"I want to help you. You are a very rare type of person, an original survivor of the apocalypse. You should come with me to Vegas, it's probably the best place for a prewar gal like yourself. "

Gaz stayed quite for a minute as she thought this over

"Or stay here, they'll be a lot more of those big green guys…" He said and glanced behind him. The centaur Gaz had wounded was now crawling out the back door. He raised the brush gun and shot it in the head.

"Fine, but we are giving my parents a proper burial first." She said and opened a garden shed. She picked out two shovels and handled one to the stranger. The hole they dug wasn't very deep, just a shallow pit. Gaz laid the bones in and covered them with dirt.

"Let's go, this place is depressing." She said

The pair was silent as they walked out of the ruined city. The stranger glanced back at her.

"So you're from SLC?"

"Yeah…" Gaz said looking at the ground

"Cool. The only other people I know who are from the Great Salt Lake are the White Legs, and those are some nasty tribals." He said

"Yeah…"

The stranger raised and eye brow and stared at her "…. So, 251st armored huh? What did you do in the army? Drive a tank?"

"That's classified."

"Ok then." He said

"Yeah…" Gaz muttered

The stranger frowned. "Tell me Ms. Patterson, are you always this talkative?"

"Only when I just find out that my parents are dead."

"Ms. Patterson, I don't mean to be rude, but what did you expect to find? Did you honestly think that they survived the apocalypse and lived 200 years?"

"No, it's just that… That... I thought maybe…"

The stranger looked at her and cocked his head to the side

"Never mind. You would do the same if it were your parents…" She finally said

"No I wouldn't. My parents died since before I can remember. And I'm sure my parents loved me very much. But you see, that's just how things work out here. People die. The innocent, the guilty, the young the old, rich, poor. It is the natural order of things. Hell I've almost bitten the dust more times than I can count." The stranger said and rubbed a scar on the side of his forehead

"How can you be so accepting of death?" She asked

"How can you be so rejecting of it? Listen, I get that you're upset. Ok? I get it. But you need to learn to live with death. Just like I learned to."

The two stopped in an abandoned gas station for the night. The stranger lit a campfire and opened a Salisbury Steak package. Gaz could smell the chalky stench of preservatives of the ancient vacuum packed food.

"Want one? It's from around your time." He chuckled

"No thanks…" Gaz said. She didn't like the pre-packed foods even before the war.

The stranger shrugged and downed the steak, then began to unstrap his weapons from his backpack: his tommy gun, brush gun, LMG, shotgun, .45 pistol and a .308 automatic rifle. Using a weapon repair kit, he began to clean his Thompson submachine gun.

"Why do you carry so many?" Gaz asked examining his firepower

"Different situations require different tools."

He then pulled a small tin bowl out of his bag. He also retrieved two strange, organ-looking objects from his pack and cracked them open with a rock.

"What are those?" Gaz asked

"Rad-scorpion and Bark-scorpion poison glands." He said and let their fluid drain into the bowl

He added a few leafs of white horse nettle to the mix and began to stir them up.

"Pay attention and you might learn a thing or two. This is how you make Bleak Venom."

"What's Bleak Venom do?" She asked

"It kills people." He said and placed the bowl next to the fire to cook

More time passed, Gaz looked up at the stranger. "Do you have a name?"

The stranger looked at her funny "Of course I have a name…"

"Well?" Gaz said

"Why don't you just call me Walker."

Gaz looked at him for a minute, it was something about the way he said it.

"That's not your real name, is it?"

"No. But as a courier, I walk all over the wastes. So people took to calling me Walker."

"A courier? That's your profession?"

"What's wrong with being a courier?"

"Nothing. Its just, I wouldn't think a man of your talents would become a simple package runner."

"Listen here Patterson, I learned my 'talents' from being a courier. The farther I walked the meaner the wastelands got. So you know what? I just kept gettin' mean with em'."

Gaz had to admit, he was a very mysterious man. It was like he had seem more than his fair share of fights.

"Why were you in that military base in the first place?" Gaz asked

"I was returning home from an expedition to Zion valley, and stumbled upon the old base. I figured there must be some good stuff hidden in the base so I broke in and restarted the main power. When I did, I also unknowingly woke you up and released a bunch of ghouls from their stasis tubes."

"Ghouls?"

"Those zombie-looking things. The stasis tubes were full of em'. Happens to certain people when exposed to high levels of radiation. Not sure why you didn't turn into one…"

The thought of turning into a ghoul made Gaz shudder.

When it came time to sleep, it was like a contest between the two. Gaz and the Courier stayed up for hours waiting for the other to fall asleep first. At first it looked like the Courier had nodded off, Gaz smirked and crept forward. Her stomach had gotten the better of her as she slowly untied the Courier's pack and reached inside. Instantly his hand was upon her wrist.

"We say please where I come from." The courier said, his eyes still closed

"Could I please have some food?" Gaz asked

"Yeah" He said an tossed her a tin of cram

She instantly tore into it an gulped down the stale food. Gaz looked over, the courier was dipping a machete into his bowl of bleak poison. He evenly spread the venom over the blade with a cloth then looked at Gaz.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" He said

"And what do you mean by that?" Gaz said sternly

"Well I saw what you did to that raider. You snapped her neck like a fuckin' toothpick. You blew the head clean off that centaur. You're skilled kid. Very skilled."

"Yeah, which is why I don't need your help." Gaz said a bit smugly

"Lets not get carried away. I said you were skilled – that's different from having experience."

"I have experience! I fought in Alaska! I'm a combat veteran for christ's sakes!" Gaz protested

"Right. You have PRE-War experience. You need POST- war experience to survive out here."

"What difference does it make? I've been trained to kill people. And I'd say I'm pretty good at what I do." Gaz said, her pride getting the better of her

"Ms. Patterson, the only REAL wasteland threats you've encountered were me and that super mutant. Both me and the super mutant were able to drop you like a bag of bricks. And in both encounters, it was my grace and intervention which saved your pre-war ass." He said in a very low and serious voice

"What about the raider? I took out the raider no problem."

"You mean untrained, unskilled drug addict? I've lost count of how many raiders I've killed. Any fool can kill a raider." He said sliding the poisoned blade into his pack "Tomorrow I'll teach you a few tricks on how to survive in the wastes."


	3. Trials of the Wasteland

_Authors note: I like to thank all of you who favorite, comment, and subscribe to my story, that is really encouraging . Unfortunately it is now finals week at my university and I am swamped with studying, so I won't be able to publish many more chapters in the near future. But I can guarantee that there will be more published as soon as I complete my exams. – ChopChop21 _

The next morning Gaz awoke to the smell of cooking. Walker was hunched over a frying pan of scrambled eggs and sausage.

"Mornin'!" he said cheerfully and handed her a plate "There's black coffee in the pot." He said motioning to a copper kettle on the fire

Gaz took a bite of the eggs and sausage, she had to admit they were delicious, but also tasted strange. She began to ponder where the eggs had come from, they certainly didn't come from a supermarket or store. She was about to ask where he had gotten the eggs, when she heard a heavy buzzing from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see a massive wasp flying full speed at her. It had red eyes, orange wings and was as big as an eagle. She almost choked upon seeing the beast and grabbed her pistol. She emptied a full mag into the torso and wing of the massive wasp, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Ooo good! I was still hungry!" The courier said

"What the hell is that thing!?" Gaz blurted, her pistol trained on the monster squirming about on the ground

"Cazadore." Walker said grabbing the shotgun off his back

The now flightless wasp got to it's feet and skittered across the ground. A heavy load of buckshot from Walker disintegrated it's head. The courier pumped his scattergun, a red shotgun shell came flipping out of the chamber. He snapped out a switchblade and sliced open the Cazadore. As Gaz looked on in disgust, he stuck his hand into the mutant's belly and with a disgusting sucking noise, ripped out an egg-clutch. He broke open the eggs into the pan and fried them. Gaz now knew where he had gotten the eggs.

"Did you want seconds?"

Gaz shook her head and looked at him.

"Where did you get the sausage?"

"You don't want to know."

A long belch made it evident Walker was done eating. He stomped out the fire threw his pack onto his shoulders. "Lets move out. If we walk fast we should make it to Vegas in about five days."

"What exactly happened to Vegas after the war?" Gaz asked

"Aside from a change of management, not a damn thing, it never got bombed so it's still intact and full of casinos, chems, brothels, booze, sex and drugs." Walker chuckled

"Good to know at least ONE city made it…"

After an hour of walking down the sun scorched ruin of a high way, the courier stopped dead in his tracks.

"Get down!" he sharply whispered

Using a pair of binoculars, he scanned the horizon. About a half mile away in a small valley, Gaz could see overturned carts and a small pillar of black smoke. Her companion grabbed the stock of a heavy .308 Automatic Rifle, and pulled it from his backpack. He handed Gaz his shotgun and a handful of .12 gauge slugs.

"Don't shoot unless you see me shooting first." He whispered

"Whats ahead?"

"Nothing good."

They got into a ditch beside the road and crept forward. Gaz could tell by the courier's expression something bad was about to happen. He motioned with his hand that she should stop moving. He scanned the horizon once again with his binoculars.

"Ok. I think it's safe." He said standing up

As they climbed back onto the road, Gaz witnessed a scene that buggered description. The mutilated and half eaten corpses of a dozen people scattered the ground, lots of blood and gore splattered across the asphalt and there was a smoking crater from where someone had thrown a grenade. Flies buzzed around in the millions. A slight breeze blew through the valley, the sun baked and bloated bodies gave off a stench which seared Gaz's lungs and twisted her stomach in knots. Hundreds of spent bullet cases and empty clips littered the ground. They made a dull jingle with every step.

"Who the hell could have done this?" Gaz said holding a handkerchief over her nose and mouth.

"Not who. What." He said and examined the corpse of a two headed cow.

"This was a water caravan. Probably headed to New Vegas. Something attacked them - it wasn't raiders- none of the loot is gone. I bet it was night stalkers or cazadors or geckos. Or maybe even a deathclaw."

"Deathclaw?" Gaz said

"Big ass, scaly, mutants that look like Satan himself. They got horns on their heads, long tails and of course, huge, razor sharp talons." He seemed like he was trying to scare her.

"Bullshit." Gaz said smugly

"I swear to god! Most dangerous critters out here!" He said and kneeled down next to one of the bodies.

"What are you doing? Have you no respect for the dead?"

"No sense in letting his stuff go to waste. Go on, take what you need. They ain't using it." He said taking a .44 revolver out of the corpses' holster

"I will not partake in desecrating the bodies of these poor bastards." Gaz said

"More for me." Her companion said.

As the courier began picking through the loot, Gaz began to wander.

"Don't go to far." He warned

"Yeah yeah"

Towards the top of the valley wall was a cave. With Walker busy looting, Gaz climbed the hill and peeked into the cave. Feeling adventurous, Gaz clicked the safety off the shotgun and wandered inside. She didn't have a flashlight, only a book of matches. She bundled some dried grass together to make a torch. With her torch in one hand and her shotgun in the other she advanced into the cave. It was evident someone had lived here a long time ago. There were empty tin cans scattered across the cave floor and a bed role. The sound of movement echoed from deep within the cave. She readied her shotgun and moved forward as quietly as possible. Ahead of her was a narrow pass, behind that was what looked like a big open chamber. As she squeezed through she dropped her torch, it landed in a 2 inch deep pool of water and went out. Gaz cursed and wiggled through the narrow pass. She fumbled with the matches in the dark but finally managed to strike one. As the dull orange light filled the cave chamber, Gaz froze, her heart shot into her throat, and beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead. Something was inside the cave with her. Something that wasn't human. She could just barely see the creature's outline. It was tall, standing about two feet taller than her and had a lean and boney frame. The light from the match began to flicker and die, that was when Gaz noticed the horns on its head and long claws on its hands. She instantly knew what it was. An intense fear swept over her, she didn't even feel the match burn down to her fingertips.

"He wasn't lying…" She thought

The deathclaw stood there silently observing her. Ever so slowly Gaz raised the shotgun, a small beam of sunlight barley illuminated the chamber. She could see the mutant's glossy skin and shiny teeth in the dismal light. She also saw its eyes, two luminous, milky white orbs that seemed like they would spit needles. She placed the sight between the beast's eyes and squeezed the trigger. The muzzle flash lit up the whole cave. The half-second flash revealed piles of bones of other ill-fated adventures. The Deathclaw yelped in pain, it clutched its face and wailed. Gaz pumped the shotgun and shot it again in the chest. The mutant let out a howl of rage like a wounded elephant and charged. Gaz racked the shotgun and fired a third time, striking the Deathclaw's neck. Black blood spurted from the wound and the mighty Deathclaw fell face first onto the cave floor. Gaz stood there panting and shaking from the adrenaline, her ears were fiercely ringing from the three shotgun blasts. She should have known better than to fire a gun in a cave. As the ringing subsided, she heard something else, it was a high-pitched screech. She looked over to see a much smaller deathclaw running at her. It was only about as tall as she was, but when it cocked it's arm back and slashed her with it's deadly talons, she knew it meant business. She blasted it at point blank range, blowing its head off. The cave rumbled, it sounded like more were coming. She struggled to get back through the narrow pass. The second she reached the other side, a big hand with razor sharp claws reached through and grabbed her ankle. Back on the other side of the pass was another deathclaw, it was too big to fit through. It squeezed her ankle and she screamed aloud, it felt like a vice grip. With one hand she pointed the slug-gun through the pass and fired blindly. The big hand let go of her followed by a yelp of pain and she scrambled forward to the cave entrance. She slipped a few shells into the gun and pumped it. Another small deathclaw came shooting out of the pass, Gaz fired from the hip. The little deathclaw squealed and slumped over. As Gaz came sprinting out of the dark cave, she tripped over a log and face planted into the dust. Gaz was just getting to her feet when she saw a full sized but wounded deathclaw limping towards her. It had a grizzly hole in its leg, it must have been the one that grabbed her. She rapidly pumped all five shotgun slugs into its chest. She stood there shaking and felt a warm stream of fluid drip down her leg.

"Please tell me I didn't piss myself…"

She looked down and saw a dark bloody patch on her lower thigh.

"Little bastard got me…"

"What the hell just happened?!" A voice boomed from behind her, it was Walker

"Take a look" Gaz said motioning to the cave

The courier walked in and examined the bodies, he turned around and stared at Gaz with a dumbfounded expression. He was completely speechless. Gaz cracked a cocky smile and yoked the shotgun across her shoulders.

"Not bad for someone with pre-war experience." She said proudly

The courier was silent. He walked over to the corpse of a small deathclaw and kicked it.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked

"A deathclaw."

"No. This is a BABY deathclaw. And if there's a baby here, do you know what else is close by?" He said in a serious tone

Gaz felt a lump form in her throat "A mother?"

"Yes, a MOTHER deathclaw." He said

There was a roar in the distance

"And I think she smells her baby's blood."

The ground began to shake, on the other side of the valley a massive black body appeared on the horizon. Gaz could see a pair of swept back horns on its head. The creature was almost twenty feet high and had a long spiky tail.

"What are we gonna do?" She whispered

"Well you got us into this, so I'm gonna throw you down to that pissed off mama and watch her tear you limb from limb" He said with a sinister tone

"What?!" Gaz said under her breath

"I'm kidding. I don't have enough explosives to kill something THAT big, so we are gonna do the next best thing and sneak away."

Gaz and the courier got low to ground and crawled forward, sticking to the cover of brush and debris. They could hear the mother death claw angrily snarling and searching for them. They heard the mother let out a wail of anguish when it found the bodies of its young. Gaz felt a pin of guilt in her heart, even though they had tried to kill her. The mother death claw sniffed the wind, then turned toward Gaz and the Courier.

"Run!" He said and jumped to his feet

Before Gaz could even stand up the angry mother was bearing down on them. The courier squeezed the trigger on his automatic rifle and peppered the huge abomination with twenty .308 armor piercing rounds. It was as if the mother deathclaw didn't even feel them ripping through her. It ignored the courier, and ran past him without even a glance. It was intently focused on Gaz, the mother could smell her baby's blood on her uniform. It quickly caught up with the pre-war soldier and leapt forward with the force of a semi-truck. Before Gaz could even get a shot off, it smacked her with a talon tipped hand. She felt the claws cut through her flesh and scrape across her bones. Gaz went flying and landed on her back, blood pooling all around her. Her vision began to fade, the last thing she saw was the mother turning around to fight her companion, followed by a ground shaking explosion. Then everything went black.


	4. rite of passage

Gaz slowly opened her eyes, everything hurt. It even hurt to breath and move, her stomach was in a whirlpool of nausea. She was lying face down on a filthy mattress in a sheet metal shack, it was pitch black. Gaz tried to push herself up

"Don't move. Your stiches are pretty fresh." Said a familiar voice. She glanced up and saw Walker. He was pretty banged up himself. He had taken off his armor and was now clad in a t-shirt and combat trousers. There was fresh blood all over his shirt. Some of it his, some it hers, some of it from the deathclaw. He had fresh bandages over a few injured sections of his arms and judging by the bulge of gauze under his shirt, he had been recently wounded in the torso.

"Can you move all ten fingers and all ten toes?" He asked, his normal pleasant and proper voice was now a voice of annoyance and anger.

"It really hurts. But yeah…" Gaz said and rested her face on the dirty bedding.

"Good. You're not paralyzed." He said and grabbed a syringe of med-x from his pocket. He jabbed the needle into her upper thigh and depressed the plunger.

Gaz let out a sigh of relief as the pain killer worked its way to her wounds. She then realized she was topless.

"Did you undress me?!"

"Yup. Needed to stich you up. " He said and handed her a blanket

As Gaz Wrapped herself up, she felt the scratchy blanket rub across the stitches in her back. Her wounds ran from her left shoulder to her right hip, there were three huge gashes running all the way to the bone. Walker was sitting in a chair facing the opposite direction as she covered herself. He unscrewed a bottle of whisky and took a long swig.

"Tell me Ms. Patterson, do you have A FUCKING BRAIN BETWEEN YOUR EARS?!" His voice made Gaz jump

"…Wh-what? What do you mean?"

"You took on an entire nest of deathclaws all by yourself! You could have been ripped to shreds! Then you almost got ME killed by a very pissed off momma!" His eyes were bloodshot and dilated

"I-I thought it was just one! I was checking out the cave and one saw me so I killed it. What else was I supposed to do?" She could feel her face getting red

"You could have ran. You could have called for me. You could have done something OTHER than killing a nest of young deathclaws. I know you're new to the whole wasteland scene, but you can't just go beating up on whatever the hell you want, you need to get stronger." He said glaring at her, but then his expression softened and he gave her the bottle

"But I must give credit where credit is due. That was impressive girl. Single-handedly taking out a nest AND surviving a swipe from a mother dethclaw." His voice was back to pleasant now,

"Taking out the nest was skill. Surviving the swipe was luck. How did you survive the mother?" She said and took a drink

"I had one brick of C4. I chucked it at her feet and blasted out her legs. Unfortunately I was a little too close to the brick when it went off…" He said and rubbed the wound on his torso. "I got hit with shrapnel but also crippled her legs – that's the best way to kill a deathclaw. Take out the legs. – So after that I just stayed out of arms reach and machine-gunned the living hell out of her till she dropped." He lifted up his shirt and peeled off a blood soaked wad of gauze then cleaned the wound.

"Oops. Missed one." He picked up a pair of tweezers and sterilized them with a cigarette lighter, before using them to pluck out a small twisted bit of metal. He taped up the wound with fresh bandages.

Gaz looked at the grievous hole in the courier's chest. "Will you be OK?"

"I'll be just fine, I've had worse. You should be worried about yourself, you lost A LOT of blood and I used the last of my simpacks to keep you from going into cardiac arrest. To make things worse, your wounds got infected … We need to get you to a doctor." He said putting together wood for a fire

The courier snapped out a switchblade and put it blade in the flame till it was red hot. He took another swig of whisky, finishing the bottle and picked up the red hot knife.

"I hate this part…" He said and pressed the side of the hot blade onto his wound.

There was a hiss of burning skin which even made Gaz grimace. The disgusting smell of burnt flesh and hair filled the shack followed by a long grown of pain. He then lifted the blade off the wound, it had been sealed shut. He slowly laid down and rested his head on his backpack.

"Floyd." He said. "My real name is Floyd. That is one tidbit of information which I rarely share with anyone."

"Why?"

"Heh… It adds to my mystique."

With the whisky and med-x coursing into her brain, Gaz began to feel weary. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning Gaz woke up in a pool of her own sweat and to find an empty shack. She felt woozy and nauseous. Floyd's Tommy gun was lying beside her with a note which read

"Ms. Patterson,

Went to go find you some medical help. I left you a gun, ammo, and a syringe of med-x. Be back this evening. DON'T LEAVE THE SHACK.

~Floyd"

When she tried to stand up a fit of dizziness caused her to fall back down. Her skin felt hot and feverish, she knew her wounds had gotten worse. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, beams of sunlight shown through the window and illuminated particles of dust. Gaz propped herself against the wall and picked up the gun. For the next hour she sat twiddled with her dog tag chain, running her parent's wedding rings through her fingers and thinking back to her pre-war life. Even though she was bored out of her mind, Gaz heeded Floyd's warning and stayed inside the shack. At midday she used the Med-x syringe, more so to kill time then to kill pain. Her senses where still sharp even in this doped up and feverish state, a thump at the door caused her to hide in a dark corner and readied the SMG.

"I'm back. And I brought a friend."

It was Floyd, Gaz lowered the gun and smiled.

"Oh?"

Behind Floyd was a somewhat short and stubby man. He was clad in a loin cloth and torn up gators and had tribal tattoos all over his body and face. He also carried a leather bag on his back. Gaz frowned

"Who might this be?" She said looking at the tribal

"This is Root Layer, he's a medicine man in the Dead Horse tribe." Floyd said

"You sure we can trust this guy?" Gaz said

"With my life. Now lay down and show us your wounds."

Gaz blushed red as she stripped off the blanket in front of the two men. Both Floyd and Root Layer respectfully looked away as she undressed. She laid down on her belly as the tribal tended to her wounds. He rubbed an earthy smelling herb into the three gashes and lit a bundle of sage and wafted the smoke around her and chanted in a strange language.

"What's the sage for?" She said to the medicine man

He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow

"He doesn't speak English." Floyd said

"Ah."

Floyd and the tribal whispered to each other in the unusual dialectal. Gaz felt strange accepting help from this savage looking man. She was accustom to modern healthcare, not this tribal mumbo-jumbo. The medicine man then placed a bowl over the fire and began to mix a bitter smelling tea. He dipped his finger into the brown liquid and tasted it, he smiled and handed the bowl to Gaz.

"Drink up" said Floyd

Gaz smelled the brew and gagged. "Is this stuff safe?"

"You want to live to see tomorrow?" Floyd asked

"Yes"

"Then drink."

Gaz held her nose and knocked it back. It was the most putrid thing she had ever tasted. She set the empty bowl down and wiped her mouth.

"What happens now?"

"Now… Now we wait." Floyd said

Root Layer smiled at Gaz, shook Floyd's hand and walked out the door.

"Where's he going?"

"His work here is done."

A powerful wave of euphoria rushed to Gaz's head.

"What… did I… just drink?" She needed to fight just to talk

"Dartura tea. It cures infections, with a side effect of hallucinations."

The walls began to move, then it seemed like the shack was collapsing into itself. An intense fear poured into Gaz, she began to struggle. Floyd's big hands held her down to the mattress

"Relax Ms. Patterson. You're about to experience one hell of a trip."

She looked up at him, his face was moving and distorted. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth. A strange feeling of concentrated pressure welled up within her chest, it felt like her heart was about to explode. And then, as if someone had hit a release valve, all the pressure dissipated leaving a feeling of strange weightlessness, calmness and bliss. She opened her eyes, she was sitting in a pure white room at the head of a dining room table. No doors or windows. There were four empty seats, one by one her dead parents and brothers appeared.

"Mom? Dad? Grant? Jim?" She said

They didn't talk, they just stared at her and smiled.

"I'm… I'm so sorry! I'm sorry about not being with you when the bombs hit! It was foolish of me to have ever accepted that assignment! Please… Please forgive me!" She said breaking into sobs

"We already have." Her Father said

"I've missed all of you so much…. So much it hurts…"

"We'll always be with you… Here" Her mother said pointing to her heart

"Here…" Jim said pointing to her dog chain of mementos

"And there…" Grant said pointing to her forehead

There was a massive explosion in the distance, the walls began to crack apart and bright beams of light shot through. The ceiling blew off, revealing her old neighborhood, there was a huge mushroom cloud in the distance.

"It's time for us to go…" Her father said

"No… Please!"

Slowly, her parents and brothers turned to white ash and blew away. Gaz sat at the head of the table, alone. She looked at the mushroom cloud, taking in the awesome and destructive might of mankind. A wave of sand and debris was racing towards her, instead of ducking for cover Gaz closed her eyes and let the cloud consume her. She felt no pain or fear, only a feeling of bliss. Seeing her family again had given her a newfound strength and peace of mind.

"You're almost there Ms. Patterson. Keep it up." Said a disembodied voice, it sounded like Floyd

Gaz opened her eyes and looked around, she was floating through a vast black void.

"heheheh, you've spent your whole pre-war life holding back, your so-called 'society' has taught you to fail. Just think how quickly you can succeed with no restraints." The voice said

And then with a great flash of light she was back to reality. Floyd was sitting in the corner smoking a cigarette, he glanced up at Gaz

"Welcome back. You were out for five days. You've also passed your first wasteland rite of passage."

"That was amazing! I saw my family and my old neighborhood… it was so real." Gaz said

"Dartura tea will do that to ya. Last time I drank some I hallucinated I was fighting a huge ghost bear named She. Now, try to stand up."

Gaz sprang to her feet, she had never felt better.

"I'm ready to move!" Gaz said enthusiastically

"I bet you are. But before we go anywhere, you should really put some more clothes on…" Floyd said smirking

Gaz realized she was still topless and covered her chest with her arms. Her face red as ever

Floyd handed her a suit of leather armor he took off one of the bodies and waited outside the shack for her to change. She walked outside, and looked around. Floyd tossed her his shotgun.

"You're pretty damn good with a scattergun. Why don't you hang on to this."

Gaz nodded and pumped her shotgun "Vegas, here we come."


	5. Hunted

Gaz was pleasantly surprised to find that her wounds were almost completely healed shut. Whatever the strange medicine man had given her had worked. She felt different through, she felt empowered and liberated; as if she had passed some kind of test. She looked at the seemingly endless stretch of crumbled highway ahead of them. Suddenly Floyd stopped, Gaz looked back at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked

"We're entering Legion held territory."

"Legion?"

"Cesar's Legion. They're a group of Roman wannabes. I guess you could call them one of the wasteland super powers."

"What's so bad about that?"

"They want me dead." He said flatly

"Do I want to know why?" She asked

"I killed few of their lieutenants. And I've also killed every assassin they've sent after me since."

"You… Murdered them?"

"I prefer the term exterminated. They was the scum of the wasteland… The things they did to women…" Floyd said, his voice full of contempt

"I see…"

"No. You don't see. I hope to god you never have to see what they do to the female gender. Come on, lets move through this land before we're spotted."

The pair pressed onward. They passed skeletons with throwing spears lodged in their skulls. Billboards and road signs they passed often had phrases like "Long Live Caesar" or "Death to the NCR!" spray painted to them. They walked into a narrow canyon. The phrase "The Burned man Walks!" was scribbled onto the canyon wall. Floyd stopped and chuckled at it, he pulled out his compact .45 auto pistol and sighed.

"God bless you Graham." He said

"Who's Graham?"

"Joshua Graham. One of my teachers and very best friends. He is also known, as The Burned Man and is the only person who hates the legion as much as I do. As a matter of fact, he gave me this pistol as a parting gift." He held the weapon up so she could see it. It had a snake skin grip and a Latin phase engraved on the slide.

"A light shining in darkness." He said

Gaz admired the weapon, it was a symbol of defiance to the malicious Legion. Floyd glanced at his Pib-Boy

"We got company…" He said looking at the red dots appear on the screen.

Gaz got her shotgun ready.

"They wear thick armor. Make sure that thing is loaded with slugs." He said slipping a clip of .45P+ rounds into his pistol

"Don't worry, I consider myself a shotgun surgeon." She said, Floyd cracked a grin and nodded

Sure enough, seven men clad in crimson armor came running into the canyon. Gaz took one look at the Legionaries and had to stop herself from laughing, they're armor was composed of hockey armor and Kevlar. The funniest part was the skirt-like covering they all wore instead of pants.

"Is that a fuckin' dress?"

The leader of the legion party snarled and took a deep breath "THE MIGHTY CEASAR HAS DEMANED YOUR DEATH AND THE LEGION OBEYS! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

Floyd smiled. "Allow me to show you the way of the New Caninnite."

Before the Legionary Assassin could even raise his Assault carbine, Floyd fired six .45P+ rounds into his face. The Legionaries behind him were splattered with skull fragments and brain matter. Floyd and Gaz dove for cover behind a boulder, bullets cutting all around them. One of the assassins pulled out an incendiary grenade and pulled the pin. As he cocked his arm back to throw it, Floyd leaned out and tapped a few buttons on his Pib-Boy. Floyd shot the fire bomb while it was still in the assassin's hand, the Legionary was instantly consumed in a cloud of flaming sulfuric vapor. Gaz cringed as he let out a scream of pain.

"That was for Joshua!" Floyd yelled

Another one on the assassins flanked them from the side of the boulder. He ran full speed at them with a thermite lance. Gaz blasted him in the chest with her shotgun and he went flying back.

"And stay back!"

From behind the boulder, Gaz and Floyd heard a distinct mechanical whirr. One of the assassins had a minigun, an arch of 5mm rounds came sweeping across the canyon. Hundreds of bullets bounced and ricocheted around the stone walls. Floyd readied his brush gun and waited for the legionary to reload. When he heard the minigun stop firing he jumped out from behind cover and leveled the brush gun at the minigunner. Before he had a chance to fire another assassin rushed him with a machete gladius and knocked the brush gun from his hands. The assassin raised the blade high above his head and attempted to plunge the it into Floyd's chest. In turn Floyd whipped out his own machete and slashed the assassins legs. The assassin let out an intense scream of pain and began to twitch, before crumpling onto the ground foaming from the mouth. He looked up at Floyd

"Bleak venom bitch." Floyd said smugly and got back behind the boulder

The three remaining assassins advanced, using the minigun to keep Gaz and Floyd pinned down. One tried to slip around the boulder, but his head was quickly blown off by three shotgun slugs in a row from Gaz. Floyd pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it over the boulder. They heard one of the assassins yell "Oh shit" followed by the explosion. Floyd jumped out from cover and mowed down the minigunner with his Tommy Gun. The remaining assassin stood there stunned, his entire team was wiped out in less than five minutes. Floyd lowered his SMG and withdrew his 'light shining in darkness' pistol. He held up the pistol so the assassin could see it.

"I know, that you know, who this pistol belonged to…" Floyd said

"Y-you don't frighten me." The legionary choked out

"Joshua Graham is still alive, you know?"

"You are great liar! He was burned alive and thrown into-" The assassin began but Floyd cut him off

"I know the story. Joshua told it to me many times. You legionary fucks make me sick, you send the White Legs tribe after Joshua instead of fighting him yourselves." Floyd leveled the pistol at the assassin, who was only armed with a power-fist. He then rapidly fired two rounds into the assassins right leg.

"Now… You are going to go to Caesar. You are going to tell him what happened. You are going to tell him that the Burned Man is still walking the wastes. And especially, you are going to tell him that the Courier is coming for him… Now run"

The legionary was frozen stiff

"I SAID RUN! YOU COWARDLY FUCK! RUN BACK TO YOUR FLASE PROFIT CAESAR! TELL HIM EVERTHING!"

The assassin hobbled away as quickly as he could.

"Fuckin' mook" Floyd grumbled

Floyd didn't waste time looting the bodies, he picked up his brush gun, then he and Gaz quickly fled the scene. As they escaped the site of the ambush, Gaz glanced up and noticed a hulking figure on the top of the canyon. The figure appeared to be wearing power armor and was carefully observing them with a pair of binoculars.

"Hey Floyd, I think you missed one." Gaz said motioning up towards the figure

Floyd looked up, the power-armored figure was gone. "I don't see nobody."

They didn't stop walking until nightfall. They stopped for the night in the back of a rusted out tractor trailer. In the distance they could just barley see the bright neon glow of New Vegas.

"I can see the roof to the Lucky 38! Before my brothers were deployed we all went to the Lucky 38 on the last week of summer. Those were the days…"

Floyd grinned and took a deep breath

"Ms. Patterson, I think its time you learned about the different factions in the wasteland. You've already met Cesar's Legion. The other faction you need to be concerned about is the New California Republic. You'd probably like them, they are devoted to old world values."

"Old world values?"

"Yeah. Democracy and other bullshit. They got their problems, but compared to the legion, they're a bunch of saints."

"I see" Gaz said

"So here lies your choices. Tomorrow morning, you could go to Vegas, you could try and pick up the few remaining shards of your pre-war life and start anew. Or, you could go to McCarran air port, now known as camp McCarran and talk to a man named Major Delphi. A person with your skill set could very easily integrate into the NCR. Just tell them the courier sent you, they'll let you in. Or you could keep traveling with me…"

"Wait, you're not coming to Vegas with me?" Gaz asked

"After being attacked by the legion for the fifth time in a month, I've decided that I don't want to attract more legion into NCR held territory. Plus, the legion will waste more manpower and resources looking for me. So what is your choice?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm stopping through Zion Valley, then exploring the Grand Canyon."

Gaz thought for a minute, she thought hard.

"Sleep on it. Tell me in the morning" Floyd Said

Gaz laid down and stared at the rusty ceiling. Life in Vegas sounded pretty comfortable, she knew she could get a nice desk job and live like she did before the war, but there was something about the wastelands that she didn't want to let go of. The next morning she awoke to Floyd cleaning his .45, he glanced up.

"What's it gonna be?"

"I… I want to come with you."

"You sure? I'm a wanted man. If you come with me, you'll become an enemy of the legion."

"I thought as much. When I was in the army I followed orders and hoped that I was doing the right thing. But when we killed those assassins, it was like I knew what I was doing was right. And ever since I met you, I've felt… I feel…"

"Invigorated?" Floyd asked

"Yeah. Before my stasis assignment I felt like everything I did was so insignificant. But now it feels like I'm making a difference."

"Ok Ms. Patterson-" Floyd began but Gaz cut him off

"Gaz... You can start calling me Gaz."

Floyd smiled and nodded "Ok Gaz. Next stop is Zion." He said and slung his pack onto his back.

"I'm ready."

"You sure? There is still time to turn back to Vegas. There is still time to revert back to your pre-war life…"

"Floyd… I'm ready. Now shut up and lead the way."

Floyd smiled "Yes ma'am."

With that, the pair began walking north to Zion. As they walked, Gaz couldn't help but think that they were being followed.


	6. Old Obligations

_Merry Christmas Everyone! _

After their bloody skirmish with the party of legionary hit men, Gaz felt a little more on edge than usual. She often found herself glancing over her shoulder and looking at her Pib-Boy's HUD to see if there was any hostiles nearby. What bothered he the most was the figure in power armor that she had seen after the fire fight. Even though the power-armored figure was far away, she kept thinking that he had been looking directly at her.

"You seem jumpy Gaz. What's on your mind?" her companion said

"That guy in armor that I saw… I think he might be following us."

"Are you sure you really saw him? The wasteland likes to fuck with your mind sometimes. The hot sun and dry air makes mirages all the time. Not to mention, a few days ago you drank some dartura tea and tripped so bad so saw your parents."

"How did you know that?"

"You talk in your sleep. The point is your eyes can deceive you out here."

"Well you got a point there. Maybe it was just an illusion."

They walked for another hour or so when they came to the rocky base of a jagged mountain. The prewar highway leading up the slope was jam packed with the rusted out bodies of cars, many of them with skeletons behind the steering wheel . As they neared the top of the mountain they stopped to take a breather. Floyd climbed atop one of the cars and pulled out his binoculars, he scanned the barren wasteland, nothing but wilderness in every direction. He suddenly stopped scanning and focused in on one a particular area.

"I'll be damned… You can see it from here." He said lowering his binoculars

"See what?"

He took a deep breath and smiled "Zion!"

He handed her the binoculars. She glanced inside and saw the massive collection of canyons in the distance. She also saw a group of men armed with sub machine guns and pistols slowly advancing up the mountain towards them.

"Trouble. Looks like four guys, they got SMGs, handguns and mean buissness." She said and handed him the binoculars

Gaz opened up the chamber on her shotgun and peeked inside to make sure it was loaded, then pumped the gun shut.

"Don't get to trigger happy, I think I know these guys."

Floyd and Gaz cautiously advanced towards the group of men. The men saw them and checked their weapons. Floyd readied his Light Shining In Darkness pistol, but kept it lowered. The two parties came within about ten yards of each other and stopped.

"Who walks on our holy ground?" One of the men asked, he seemed like he was the leader of the group. He wore reinforced leather armor and was armed with a .45 auto pistol with a long silencer screwed onto the barrel. He also had a very serious expression on his face

"We are but two simple travelers one our way to Zion." Floyd said then focused on the man's pistol. "Are you New Canaanites?" Floyd asked

"We are. And who might you be?" The leader said

Floyd showed the leader his Light Shining In Darkness "I too am a fellow disciple of Canaan."

"Oh! Forgive my rude introduction my brother! We must remain vigilant in these troubled days. You must be the courier who they call Walker. Joshua Graham told us of you. Is it true that you fought alongside him?" The leader said, his expression instantly softening

"Yes! And I have the pistol to prove it."

"Your reputation precedes you. Who is your friend? Another disciple?"

"I guess you could call her my partner."

"Very well, is there anything I can help you with brother?" The leader asked

"Have anything to trade?"

"Yes of course."

Floyd and the leader then began to haggle

"Ok, I'll give you this light machine gun, it's in great condition. What else do I have…" Floyd said digging through his pack, he pulled out a looted .44 magnum. "This is in kinda rough shape, but I guarantee it will shoot straight. I'll give them both to you for some stimpaks and fifty rounds of .45 auto ammo."

"Deal." The leader said and they exchanged items.

Floyd and the leader shook hands "Hopefully I'll see you on the trail sometime."

"Likewise brother!"

The group of New Canaanites then began to make their way up the mountain. Gaz and Floyd walked to the other side.

Floyd took a deep breath and let out a humble sigh. "Even with all the enemies I've made, I take comfort in knowing that I've made more friends."

The two of them entered the massive Zion canyon. There was tribal paintings all over the canyon walls, Floyd pointed out a painting of a man walking into a sunset.

"They made that one to honor me after Joshua and I kicked the White Leg's asses out of Zion."

"Who's painted them?"

"The Sorrows Tribe. You'd like them, they are good fighters but they have the innocence of a child. They morn everyone who dies around them, even their fallen enemies." Floyd then pointed to another cave painting, this of a man with a war club. "That one is from the Dead Horse tribe. They close followers of Joshua, and are easily offended, so be on your best behavior."

"Good to know." Gaz said admiring the massive paintings. In the corner of her eye she noticed something on top of the canyon wall, it was the silhouette of a person. She looked up and focused, it was the man in power armor watching them through binoculars.

"Floyd! Look! It's the man in armor!" Gaz said tugging at Floyd's sleeve and pointing

Floyd glanced up, once again the man was gone. "You still tripping or something?" Floyd chuckled

"I swear I saw him!"

"It's ok Gaz, I see things that aren't really there too. It happens."

"But… He was just up there. I know I saw him."

"Keep your head in the game. We are approaching Dead Horse point, so let me do the talking, stay in plain sight, keep your weapons holstered, and no sudden moves. Ok?"

"Yeah Yeah. I'll be good."

The two waded into the shallow river running through the canyon. Ahead of them was the stone valley leading into Dead Horse Point. A huge door made of pine logs had recently been added to the mouth of the valley to keep the White Legs out. Gaz casually walked through the ankle deep water, not paying attention to where she was stepping. Floyd grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her back causing her to slip and fall into the river.

"Hey! What's your damn problem?!" She yelled and stood up soaking wet.

"Look where you were about to step…" Floyd said pointing to a dark object hidden in the water

Gaz took a closer look and saw a bear trap, it was submerged and covered with mud.

"Oh… Uh, Thanks ."

"Watch were you put your feet. I don't want to have to stich you up again."

They came within ten yards of the door. A figure in a feathered head dress poked his head above the huge pine door and looked at Floyd.

"Walker the Brave has returned! Who stands beside you?" The figure said looking at Gaz.

"Her name is Gaz. She is a young warrior from the Old World."

"You both may enter." The figure said and the massive door lowered and splashed into the water.

Floyd took one look at the man in the head dress and smiled.

"Follows Chalk, is that you? I almost didn't recognize you, are those tattoos new?"

"Hoi! It is. After you talked to Joshua for me I ventured into the Mojave. Upon my return, I was awarded with these tattoos for my bravery." The man said

"You earned those. Can you take me to Joshua?"

"Yes! Goot sists. Follow me."

Floyd and Gaz ventured into Dead Horse point, Follows Chalk raised the pine door and lead them around the submerged bear traps. They passed a group of Dead Horse tribesmen, they gasped and got down on one knee as Floyd walked by.

"Rise my friends, we are all equal here. You don't need to bow to me." Floyd told them with a smile

Follows Chalk lead them to a cave. "Joshua in Angel Cave. He will be pleased to talk to you."

The pair made their way into Angel Cave, they were greeted by a Dead Horse War-Chief with many facial tattoos and a serious expression.

"Walker! Is your mind gone?! You can't bring outsider in here!" He snarled and looked at Gaz

"Calm down Chief Red Water, she's from the Old World and she's with me."

"Pleased to meet you." Gaz said with a forced smile

"They teach you to speak without permission in Old World? This outsider have no courtesy!" Red Water growled

"Listen here Chief, it is by my grace that Joshua didn't kill you with the rest of the White Legs. So you better treat my prewar companion as an extension of myself or I will personally bury you with your buddy Salt Upon Wounds…" Floyd said in his serious tone

Red Water looked at Floyd with a look of bitter hate, but then gave in "Fine…" He said and sulked away

"Forgive him, he was once a White Legs commander, I found him half-dead after the battle of Zion. Joshua was about to put him out of his misery when I halted the execution and brought him to the Sorrows camp where they fixed him up. He's can be a real asshole, but he is one hell of a good fighter."

"What made you want to spare him?" Gaz asked

"The same reason I spared you when you came out of stasis. He was alone, afraid, and all of his friends were dead."

"Well aren't you the merciful one." She joked

The two walked up a torch lit stair well and into a wide open cave chamber. Sitting at a table in the back was a man covered from head to toe in bandages. The table had a stack of .45 auto pistols piled on top. The man in bandages was carefully checking each one for flaws before loading it and setting it aside. He glanced up and saw Floyd and Gaz. You could see the smile form under the man's facial bandages upon seeing Floyd.

"What a pleasant surprise! Floyd! Please come in!"

"Hello Joshua."

"I thought you were going back to the Mojave. What brings you back to Zion?"

"I was attacked five times on my way back by Legionary death squads. It seems I've made Caesar's shit-list."

"Welcome to my world. You are quite safe in Zion, Caesar wouldn't dare sending hit squads to a place controlled by both of his biggest threats. We'd wipe them out like we did the White Legs." Joshua said

"That doesn't mean he won't try…" Floyd said

"You worry too much my friend. Tell me, who is your companion?"

"This is Gaz, my partner. You will never guess where she came from. I found her in a" Floyd was cut off by Follows Chalk bursting into the cave chamber. He was out of breath, and streaked with blood and dirt.

"Joshua… A demon, a metal clad demon… It wiped us out…"

"Calm down Follows Chalk. What happened ?" Joshua said

"It was outside Three Mary's… A… A monster. It walked like a man…. But it was covered in metal… Our bullets and spears bounced off like pebbles…"

"It must be a Legionary Centurion. Floyd, would you and your companion mind killing this intruder? I'm a bit preoccupied."

"It would be my pleasure Joshua." Floyd said and cocked his brush gun

The pair exited the cave. Two Dead Horse warriors were waiting for them outside. One of them was Chief Red Water.

"Walker, we go now. I take you to intruder." Red Water said and loaded his trail carbine

"Ok lets move out."

The four quickly moved across the river and onto a prewar hiking trail. They followed the trail across Zion and over the They Mary's. Gaz wanted to stop and admire the natural beauty of Zion, but was forced to stay focused

"This last place we see intruder." Red Water said

"Well then, lets go find this intruder."

Floyd went in first, followed by Red Water then, then the other Dead Horse warrior with Gaz covering the rear. They quietly advanced farther and farther into the Three Mary's when they heard the sound of movement echo from behind a blind turn in the canyon. It sounded like footsteps. Heavy metallic footsteps. Floyd shouldered his leaver-gun and peeked around the corner. Standing in the shadows was a huge figure, Floyd motioned for his companions and all four of them came running around the corner and leveled their guns at the intruder.

"HALT! Keep your hands where I can see them. Come out of the shadows, do it now!" Floyd barked

The figure scoffed and walked out of the shadows. They were expecting one of Cesar's assassins, but the man that walked forward certainly wasn't legion. Instead of improvised crimson armor, the man wore a full suit of power armor with a large "E" painted to the arm.

"I have nothing to say to you, wastelander scum…" The armored figure said them turned to Gaz "Hello Lieutenant Patterson. I see you've awoken from stasis. My name is Sargent Hinder, and your county needs you."

"What? My country?" Gaz said very confused

"Yes! This is your call of duty! The Enclave… Uh... I mean your county needs you."

"In case you haven't noticed there isn't much left of my so called country. And who the hell is the Enclave?" Gaz said

"The Enclave IS your country. The Enclave IS the U.S. government. Naturally you report to us, Lieutenant."

"I'll be damned… The Enclave still exists! I thought the NCR eliminated you bastards." Floyd said

"Shut your mouth wastelander!" He said to Floyd and turned to Gaz. " You are very important to us. So, if you will come with me Lieutenant, you can leave all of this behind you and live in prewar luxury."

Gaz raised an eyebrow. "If I am so important to this Enclave, then why did you leave me frozen in a tube for 200 years?"

"Um… You see… We uh, needed you. Yeah. We needed you now more than ever. So if you'd please come with me…" The Sargent said, he was getting annoyed

"Hell no! If you are who you say you are, then I want nothing to do with you! It was assholes like you who convinced me to accept the stasis assignment, and now look where I am! I'm in the threshold of hell! You bastards pressured me into saying yes! And now everyone I knew is dead!" Gaz's voice thundered through the valley as she released all of her rage and frustration into the Enclave soldier

"I'm not asking Lieutenant, I'm demanding. I ORDER you to come with me this instant!" the soldier yelled, his helmet muffling his voice

"I outrank you Sargent, you can't give me orders. But as a Lieutenant I can give YOU orders. And I ORDER you to fuck right off." Gaz snarled, she heard Floyd laugh under his breath

The Enclave soldier sighed "It's a shame you chose this. You could have been very useful to us." He then produced a huge plasma caster and clicked on the main power

"Light him up!" Floyd yelled

The peaceful tranquility of Zion valley was quickly replaced by the pounding of guns. Each of the four emptied a full clip into the Enclave solider. Dozens of spend bullet cases and empty shotgun shells came jingling to the stony ground. The Enclave solider stumbled back as the bullets and buckshot ricochet off. One by one their guns clicked empty. The power armor had taken the blunt of the barrage, but the soldier inside the armor was still alive. He shook off the pain and stood up. The Dead Horse warrior slipped on a power-fist and charged full speed at the soldier.

"I HAVE NO FEAR! I SHOW YOU HOW TRUE WARRIOR FIGHTS!" The Dead Horse tribesman bellowed and cocked his arm back. The warrior managed to land a solid blow into the Enclave Soldier's helmet causing him to fall and land on his back. The Dead Horse warrior sprang forward to finish the soldier off, but the soldier was faster. He raised his plasma caster and fired three times, instantly melting the valiant warrior into a pile of green goo.

"Jesus!" Floyd yelled and whipped out his Light Shining in Darkness pistol.

The power armored man laughed "That little thing won't hurt me."

Floyd opened fire, his bullets harmlessly bouncing off

"That's right! Shoot till it's empty!" The soldier laughed

Gaz managed to slip a couple slugs into her shotgun and leveled the shotgun at the soldiers head. She rapidly pumped the solid rounds into him. He must have felt the heavy rounds as he slumped over in pain as she unloaded onto him. He swung the plasma caster over and pointed it at Gaz and squeezed the trigger. A ball of pure plasma energy came speeding straight for her. Chief Red Water pushed Gaz out of the way but got grazed by the plasma. Chief Red Water let out a savage war-cry wildly fired a few .44 magnum rounds into the mans armor to little effect.

"Fall back! Fall Back!" Floyd yelled

Gaz and Chief Red Water quickly ran for cover. Floyd pulled the Thompson Sub Machine gun out and ripped the trigger. Using the suppressive fire of his tommy gun, he kept the soldier occupied long enough for his companions to escape. The soldier fired his plasma caster and nailed Floyd in the chest. The chest plate in his combat armor caught the ball of plasma, but it still felt like getting hit with a sledge hammer. Floyd stumbled away, Gaz and Chief Red Water were waiting for him.

"You guys move up and get to a better vantage point. I'll keep him occupied. Gaz, take these." Floyd said and handed her three strange looking shotgun shells

"What are these?" She asked

"Pulse slugs. They are prototypes used to take out power armor. They are really fuckin' expensive so don't miss."

"Gotcha. Lets move Red Water." Gaz said

"Lead the way."

Gaz and the Chief began to climb the canyon walls to get to a good shooting position. Floyd readied his .308 automatic rifle and laid down suppressive fire. The heavy .308 round had more of an effect than the .45 rounds. They high powered rifle rounds visibly dented the mans power armor, but still didn't penetrate. Meanwhile, Gaz slipped the experimental pulse slugs into the shotgun and took aim. She fired. The pulse slugs flew right through the thick armor and the man screamed aloud. Gaz racked the gun and fired again, this time the round whistled through his arm; crippling the limb. Gaz fired the last of the pulse rounds, it nailed the solider in the chest. Lines of blood trickled out the holes in the armor. The Chief lit a Molotov cocktail and lobbed the fire bottle at the soldier. The bottle smashed against the shoulder plate of the power armor and coated the soldier in flaming liquid.

"OH FUCK!" The man screamed and thrashed about as he was literally cooked alive in his armor. He flopped around on the ground for a minute then laid still.

The chief looked at Gaz. "You stay here and cover. I go and check on Walker."

Red Water slid down the canyon wall and kicked the charred body. It didn't move so he ran up to Floyd and grinned.

"We even now. Got it?" He said and crossed his arms

"Agreed." Floyd said clutching his chest

Floyd leaned back against the rock face and sat down. He felt a terrible pain in his torso. "cracked ribs." He thought

"I take you to Sorrows Camp. They heal you like they heal me." He said and extended a hand to help Floyd up. As he extended his hand Chief Red Water suddenly screamed and arched back in a seizure of pain. Then suddenly disintegrated into a thick green puddle. The soldier was still standing, A greasy black smoke drifting off of the shoulder plate. He leveled the plasma caster at Floyd.

"You're dead fucking meat. What you did was very heroic… But not very smart. After I'm done with you I'm going to capture that little bitch and drag her back to my base. Then me and my boys are gonna beat the prewar info out of her." He said with a sinister chuckle

"Before you kill me… I want you see your face. I want to see the face of the man that killed me." Floyd choked out. He tasted blood in his mouth.

The solider laughed. "Alright you scum. I guess I can grant you your dying with." He said and removed his helmet. His face was red in a 2nd degree burn and his hair was singed at the top from the fire bomb.

"I bet you've never seen a wound this bad. But we in the Enclave are tough, we don't crumple up and die like you primates in the Wasteland." He snarled

"Actually I've met a man with a full body burn worse than yours, so don't be such a bitch."

The soldier charged his plasma caster and pointed it at Floyd's head. He was so preoccupied with Floyd, we didn't notice Gaz sneaking up behind him. She put the shotgun barrel three inches away from his head and pulled the trigger. The last thing the Enclave Soldier felt was hot air ruffling through his hair before his head disintegrated in a load of number 4 buckshot. Bloody vapor splashed all over Floyd.

"Real shame what happened to Red Water… Are you ok?" Gaz said

"I think I broke a few ribs… Get me to the Sorrows camp," Floyd said and wiped some blood away

Gaz helped Floyd up and together they limped to The Sorrows.


	7. Cutting lose

Gaz led Floyd back through Zion. The sun was setting and the stars were coming out. Gaz had returned from the fight with the Enclave soldier unharmed. Floyd on the other hand was struggling to keep his balance, his blood had soaked through the fabric parts of his armor and trickled down his chest. The metal chest plate in his armor had warped and partially melted from the intense heat of the plasma caster blast. As they walked, Gaz suddenly turned back and looked at Floyd with a spiteful grin.

"I told you so…" She said

"Here it comes…." Floyd groaned

"I fucking told you so! I said: Floyd, I think we are being followed. But you said: No, that's just a hallucination. Now look at you, hobbling through the wilderness, a nasty plasma burn on your chest. And the only person you have to blame is yourself." Gaz said in a sassy voice

"Gaz…"

"You could have just believed me. And this whole thing could have gone SO much smoother."

"Uh, Gaz?"

"You think you know it all, with your wasteland survival experience. But I know a thing or two about staying alive to."

"GAZ!" Floyd snapped

"WHAT?!"

"I just got shot in the chest with a high powered plasma weapon. Can you save the lecture until I get some medical help?" Floyd said clutching his wound

"Sure…. But I'm giving you the same lecture you gave me when I took on the deathclaw nest."

"Can't wait…" Floyd said

As they entered the Sorrows camp, the local tribespeople gasped upon seeing a wounded Floyd. Two men quickly walked over and helped them out. They put one of Floyds arms around one of their shoulders and eased him down onto a bed roll. Using his switch blade, Floyd cut the shoulder straps to the chest plate in his armor and the half-melted plate fell off. The front of his shirt under his armor had burnt away exposing a grizzly burn. The small patch of skin beneath where the plasma had hit was scorched black. The area around the burn had turned an ugly shade of purple. The entire wound oozed pus and blood. Floyd cut away his shirt and slowly lifted off the pieces, careful to not touch his burn. The plasma caster wound was located directly above the wound he received fighting the mother deathclaw.

"Ever since I was a kid I've heard stories and legends of the people who wear power armor. I've heard of organizations like the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, They always said the NCR killed them all. But I've never in all my years encountered one. Let alone fought one. That guy was like a walking tank in that armor." Floyd said and injected a syringe of Med-x into his chest.

"You've never seen a person in power armor? Back in my time they used to parade them around cities to sell war bonds. Heh, when I was in the army I was a power armor operator. I used to put on a suit of power armor every day." Gaz said reminiscing

Floyd stopped tending to his wound and stared at Gaz. His jaw dropped "You know how to use power armor?"

"Of course I do. Everyone in my division knew how to use it. Why do you think I was part of the 251st Armored division?"

"Oh my god…"

"What?"

"Almost NOBODY in the wasteland knows how to use power armor. The few people that received power armor training certainly aren't about to share its secrets. We need to go get you that armor!" Floyd said standing up

Gaz extended a finger and poked Floyd's burn, he winced and grimaced in pain and sat back down.

"OW! Fuck! Why'd you do that?!" He said

"You are NOT going back out into the valley in your condition. I'll go. You stay here and recover." Gaz said in a stern tone

"Ok ok you're right. But before you go you need a guide, can't risk you getting lost..."

In response Gaz held up her Pib-Boy. "I got maps on this thing you know. Besides I used to come to Zion when I was a kid, I know these canyons pretty well. "

"Alright, but watch of for the Yao Guai. They're like grizzly bears, but so much worse."

"Good to know. But I can handle myself." Gaz said and checked to make sure her shotgun and pistol sere loaded

"Just like you could handle the super mutant and mother deathclaw?"

"That won't happen again, I guarantee it."

"You need more firepower. Take my rifle." He said handing her his brush gun. Gaz examined the weapon, it had a Native American dream catcher tied onto the stock. "I call it my Medicine Stick." He said

"I'll use it to fend off evil spirits." Gaz said and cocked the brush gun

Just then two men walked up to the cot Floyd was sitting on. Gaz recognized one of the men as Root Layer, the medicine man who had previously saved her life, Floyd smiled and nodded to him. The other was dressed in a cowboy style hat and a patchy plaid shirt.

"Floyd." The man said

"Daniel." Floyd replied

Both Daniel and Floyd were blatantly avoiding eye contact.

"This is what happens to men who peruse war. Nothing but bloodshed and loss." Daniel said spitefully

"I received this wound protecting her." Floyd growled and motioned to Gaz

"That's what you get for being a hero."

"God damn it Daniel. Did you come here to criticize my life choices or treat my wound?"

"I don't criticize you're life choices. I criticize the choices you made for Zion. Now be quite and hold still." He said and began carefully wiping away the blood. Root Layer then applied some earthy smelling herbal paste to Floyd's burn, the same kind he had used on Gaz.

"We used this herbal ointment to save Joshua when he was covered in pitch and set ablaze. I think you will be just fine. Now lay down, and try not to touch it." Daniel said covering it with bandages.

"I'll be back before morning." Gaz said and began walking to the gate

"Be careful. And watch your back, I have a feeling the Enclave isn't going to let you go so easily."

"And I'm ready for them." Gaz said walking out the gate

The night air was getting colder. Gaz was about to switch on her Pib-Boy flashlight but decided not to. The sky was clear and the moon provided a decent amount of light. What surprised Gaz the most was the amount of stars she could see, without the light of cities there were thousands more visible. As she walked on, she got the feeling she was being watched. A glance at her Pib-Boy's HUD reviled no threats, but that didn't satisfy her. She entered the Three Marys canyon, the headless corpse of the Enclave Soldier lay belly down in a shallow muddy stream. The power armor was smeared with a black residue from the fire bomb and covered in dents from where bullets impacted. She unbuckled the main latches on the armor, a wretched smell of burnt skin and hair came rushing out. There was also another smell, the soldier had released his bowls when he died. Gaz put a handkerchief around her face and pulled the burned and soiled body out of the armor.

"Disgusting…" She groaned and picked up the empty suit

The smell lingered inside the suit so she hauled it to the river running through the valley and began to wash out the stench. As she cleaned, she heard a stick break behind her. She spun around, the brush gun at the ready. To her surprise, there was nothing there. After the first encounter with the Enclave Solider she didn't want to take any chances. She slipped into the suit of armor and activated the power core. The armor hummed to life, the smell was still there but she didn't care. She was back in her element, doing what she was trained to do.

"I know you're there! Come out with your hands up and I won't have to hurt you." She said clicked the safety off of her weapon

There was a crackle of electricity and a flash of light. A man in a suit of recon armor appeared before her, he pulled a used stealth-boy off his wrist and tossed it to the ground. There was an "E" painted on the sleeve of his suit. He smiled and put his hand up

"Ok. You got me. But I'm not her to attack you. I didn't even bring a weapon. I'm just here to talk."

"Shut your mouth and turn around. Do it. Do it now." Gaz said and leveled the gun at his head

"But-"

"RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW."

The soldier complied and turned around. Gaz noticed a small bulge of clothing under his shirt and grabbed it. It felt metallic so she reached in and took it out. It was a plasma pistol, charged and ready. She pushed him onto the ground and pointed the plasma pistol at his face.

"Are you trying to fuck with me? Is that it? How about I fuck with you and melt that smile off of your face?"

"Please just calm down. That pistol was my last resort. Just hear me out." The man pleaded

"You have one minute to say want you want to say."

"I represent the Enclave. They are what's left of the U.S. government. I looked over you're file; you're a specialist in close combat and trained to use power armor. Not to mention, I read that you have over a hundred confirmed kills. I'll be honest with you, the entire reason you were put into stasis was for you serve the Enclave after the war. I get that you are mad, but you signed a contract before the war. And Uncle Sam is calling that contract in. It is your duty to follow orders."

"Fuck the contract, fuck orders and fuck you!"

"Look, just take this." The soldier said and handed her a radio "Use it to get in contact with us if you change your mind."

Gaz took the radio and smashed it on the ground. She sifted through the broken pieces and picked up a small metal box, it was about the size of a zippo lighter. She held the box up so that the soldier could see it.

"You think I'd fall for this? A GPS tracker hidden in something? That's the oldest trick in the book!"

"And that is why we need you. It was people like you who wrote the book."

"And it was people like you who started World War 3."

"Fine. Be that way. But this isn't over. After me, they'll send more. Each one will be worse than the last, and it's gonna take a lot more than power armor to keep you safe." The man said and stood up

Gaz shot him in the foot with the plasma pistol, the green ball of energy burnt clean through his recon armor. His wounded foot gave out from under him and he fell to the ground. He shrieked and plunged his still smoking foot into the river

"You fucking cunt! You'll pay for that!" The soldier snarled

Gaz looked down at him, her face was as blank and expressionless a slab of limestone.

"I'm… Uh… I'm sorry I called you that."

"I think I misheard you. Could you repeat what you just called me?" Gaz said, her voice had no trace of emotion. That's what scared the soldier the most

"I… I called you a… a…"

"Spit it out soldier-boy. What did you just call me? I think it was a four letter word that begins with the letter C"

"A… a cunt." The soldier was shaking with fear

"Tell me soldier-boy, is that any way to treat a lady? Is that what they teach you in your so-called Enclave?"

"Please just let me go. I'll tell my commander that I killed you and you won't ever hear from us again." The wounded soldier pleaded

"No you won't. If the Enclave is anything like the U.S. army, you are gonna go straight to your commander and tell him where I am. I pulled the same trick when I was captured by the Chinese." Gaz said and pulled the brush gun off of her back

"What are you gonna do?" The soldier whimpered

"I think it's fair to give you a running start."

"What do you mean a running start?"

"I mean you should start running now. Who knows, I might miss." Gaz said and readied the gun

The soldier stood up and hobbled away, leaving bloody foot prints. Gaz slowly raised the rifle and peered down the sights. She allowed the soldier to run for 30 yards before she fired. The thin recon armor provided little protection from 45-70gov round. The bullet whistled through the center of his back and blasted out though his chest in a splatter of blood. She racked the leaver on the rifle and stared at the body. She couldn't help but think what would have happened to her if the Enclave had found her before Floyd did. She then yoked the rifle across her shoulders and began walking back to the Sorrows camp, clad in her new power armor.

Most of the people in the Sorrows camp were asleep. Groups of five or six people clustered around campfires and slept. Gaz slipped out of the armor and back into her leather clothing. She quietly searched for an open bed roll but couldn't find one. She then noticed Floyd, he was fast asleep on a bed roll by a dying fire. She carefully put another log on the fire and laid down next to Floyd. His eyes snapped open and he reached for his pistol.

"Settle down cowboy. I just want some body heat." She said and got close to him

"Did you get the armor?"

"I sure did. It could use a good cleaning."

Floyd chuckled "I bet it dose"

They both sighed and looked up at the endless expanse of stars.

"Thanks by the way." Gaz said

"Thanks for what? I thought you were going to lecture me about getting shot."

"I mean thanks for waking me up from stasis. I'm glad you found me instead of those Enclave assholes."

"Don't mention it. I think we make a good team." He said and looked at her

"A team… Yeah" She said and looked at him.

Something strange happened. As if a mutual feeling came over them both. They both leaned in, but before their lips could touch, a voice sounded from behind them.

"Floyd, a Yao Guai was spotted just outside of camp. Can you please go take care of it?" It was Daniel

Floyd sighed "Yeah I'll get it."

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"Don't worry. Go back to bed. I'll get the Guai."

"If you say so." Daniel said and walked back to his bed roll.

Floyd slipped a t shirt on and stood up. Gaz frowned

"Talk about a mood killer." She grumbled

"Patience is a virtue." He said and loaded his automatic rifle with hollow points

As Floyd walked out the gate, Gaz laid flat on her back and looked at the stars. A wide smile came across her face. Perhaps Floyd was becoming more than just a partner.


	8. Last Day in Paradise

The next morning Gaz woke up expecting Floyd to be next to her but he was nowhere to be found. She stood up and rubbed her eyes. There was a large crowd of tribespeople gathered around a camp fire. Gaz could smell cooking, every so often there was burst of laughter. She then noticed people walking away with plates of food. Her stomach grumbled and she walked over to the fire. The tribes people saw her coming and made room for her. There was a huge bear carcass being roasted over the fire, Floyd was sitting on a stool beside the fire carving off pieces of meat and handing them out to the people.

"Good morning!" He said and handed her a plate of Yao Guai meat

"Morning." Gaz said half asleep. "Is this the one you had to go kill last night?"

"Sure is. He was one mean motherfucker."

"He ain't so mean anymore."

"Hey Gaz listen, after breakfast there is a few things I need to talk to you about."

"Uh ok."

Towards the end of morning, the Yao Guai over the fire had been stripped clean of all the meat leaving only a fresh skeleton. The Sorrows then collected the bones and cracked them open to collect the marrow. Once they scraped the marrow out they swept up the bone fragments and ground them to a powder then sprinkled it onto their gardens to fertilize the soil and to ensure no part of the Yao Guai was wasted. Floyd walked up to Gaz.

"Hey."

"Hey. What's wrong?" Gaz asked

"I've been thinking about what happened between us last night. I think we need to hold off on getting any closer. At least until we ditch the Legion and Enclave"

"Why?" Gaz asked

"I've walked a lot of miles on the wastes. I've walked with a lot of friends. Walked with a few lovers. The wasteland doesn't care who you walk with. It will take these people from you, regardless of how close they are to you. Sooner or later the wasteland is gonna take one of us. Are you prepared for that?"

"I understand. This is why they didn't allow relationships between soldiers in the army. I just hurts that much more when they're gone."

"I knew you'd understand." Floyd said

"Yeah. Besides, as partners we make a pretty badass team." Gaz said

"Damn straight. There was also something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"And that is?"

"The Enclave. If the legends about them are true, then I don't think they are gonna let you go just because you killed one of their soldiers."

"Make that two soldiers. I killed another one last night, but he wasn't in power armor."

"I rest my case. The point is, we can't bring the Enclave to Zion valley. The Sorrows and Dead Horses just won a war, they don't need to get involved in another one. That's why we are leaving for the Grand Canyon tomorrow."

"Ok. But why the Grand Canyon?"

Floyd was silent for a minute, he stared at the ground. "I… I got business to attend to. I need to visit an old friend of mine. He was a courier once. But he chose the wrong path, I take it upon myself to set him straight."

Gaz cracked a smile "So you and this courier go way back?"

"Not really, I've never met him."

"Then how can you be old friends?" Gaz said and raised an eyebrow

"Weren't you listening? I said he was a courier. Couriers in the wasteland have a connection. If you are a courier it means you've walked a path, even if the path you chose was the wrong one. It means you've been places and seen things. Some of those things I wish I hadn't seen."

"Do you even know this guy's name?" She asked

"I don't know his real name. I only know his nickname. He is the one they call Ulysses. Everywhere I've been, he's been there first. He beat me to the Mojave wasteland. I know he was here in Zion before me, Joshua told me about his presence here. He is the one who convinced the White Legs to attack the Dead Horse and Sorrows tribes. He had even come to the Sierra Madre before me, God only knows why he would go to that horrid place voluntarily." Floyd shuddered at the thought

"You've been to the Sierra Madre Casino? It was still under construction when I went into stasis."

"It's not a place you want to visit. The guests that go to the Sierra Madre tend to have very short futures. Practically nonexistent in fact. The point is, this Ulysses is one tough bastard and I have good reason to believe he works for Cesar's Legion. So I'm going to go and convince him otherwise."

"Right then. I'll begin to stock up for the trip."

"Good idea. Talk to the people around the Sorrows camp, they will be very happy to help you. As for me, I'm going out into the valley. I need to tie up a few loose ends before I leave."

"Not before you've applied your morning medicine." A voice said, it was Daniel. He tossed Floyd some new bandages and a small clay pot of herbal ointment

"Of course. Thank you Daniel." Floyd said avoiding eye contact

Daniel turned to walk away but suddenly stopped and looked back at him "I know we don't see eye to eye…. But thanks for helping the tribe out. In all the ways that you do."

"You guys were good to me, so I try to be good to you." Floyd said

Daniel tipped the brim of his hat and walked away

Floyd peeled off the old bandages and rubbed the herbal cream over the burn. The wound was visibly smaller and less bruised from the medical balm Root Layer had used. Floyd then jabbed a couple of stimpaks into the area for good measure. He slung his tommy gun over his back and began to walk out the gate. Gaz watched him as he disappeared into Zion. She felt a little upset that Floyd stopped their relationship and kept it where it was; as partners and friends. But she understood what prompted him to do so. She knew from her time fighting the Chinese that emotions can get you killed on the battlefield.

"Hello Ms. Patterson." A deep voice said from behind her. It was Joshua.

"You're Floyd's friend Joshua right? He speaks very highly of you." Gaz said

"He speaks very highly of you too. I spoke with him while you were retrieving the armor. You seem to be his favorite partner. But I think you two are becoming more than just partners though." Joshua said with a slight chuckle

Gaz blushed a little. "We are keeping it as partners."

"You can keep telling yourself that. Anyway I have something for you." He said and handed her a customized .45 auto pistol. It was sleek and black and had a HD slide, fine leather grips, and a Latin phrase etched into the slide of the pistol.

"The phrase says 'With Every Light There Is A Shadow.' I see you as a shadow of Floyd." Joshua said

"Wow. Thanks, this will come in handy next time a Legionary Hit squad decides to mess with us."

"My thoughts exactly. I can teach you how to use it properly if you wish."

"No offense Joshua, but I know how to handle a gun."

"Prove it. Do you see that crow perched on that tree over there?" Joshua said pointing into the distance

Gaz squinted her eyes. The crow Joshua was pointing at was perched on a tree roughly seventy five yards away.

"I see the crow. What about it?"

"I want you to shoot it."

"That's impossible. There is no way you could make that shot with a handgun. Maybe with a rifle." Gaz said

In response Joshua drew his .45, took aim and fired. There was a puff of blood and feathers and the crow fell out of the tree.

"I can teach you the way of New Canaan. Would you like to learn how to make that shot?" Joshua said and holstered his smoking pistol

Gaz was stunned, she closed her dropped jaw and said "Yes."

Joshua took her to a make shift shooting range. He set up four paper targets, then walked back fifty yards, drew his pistol and emptied a seven round magazine in rapid succession into a target. Each shot was a bulls eye.

"Show me what you can do." He said

Gaz readied her new .45 and took aim. She held her breath and squeezed the trigger. One by one she emptied the magazine. Each shot hit the target, but fell short of the bulls eye.

"Widen your stance, and don't arch your back so much. Now reload and try again." Joshua said

Gaz slid another clip into her pistol and released the slide shut. She took aim at another target and squeezed off another seven rounds. She heeded Joshua's advice and placed her feet farther apart and straightened her midsection. Each shot was closer to the bulls eye, but none of them were direct hits. Joshua scratched his bandaged chin and thought for a minute.

"I think you're too tense. You're anticipating the recoil and that's making the gun jump. Relax yourself and try again."

Gaz shrugged and reloaded. She took three deep breaths and ran her fingers over her dog tag chain. The feeling of her pre-war keepsakes always relaxed her. She calmly raised her pistol and took aim. She slowly squeezed the trigger and fired. The first three shots came within a millimeter of hitting the bulls eye. She paused, took another deep breath and slowly but steadily fired the remaining four shots. Each shot hit the bulls eye. Joshua started clapping

"Very impressive, Ms. Patterson. Very impressive. It took Floyd fifty rounds before he could hit a bulls eye at this range."

"It didn't take fifty!" A voice said from behind them, it was Floyd, he was wearing a new set of armor. It was composed of a Desert Ranger's combat armor and a Kevlar-woven trench coat.

"Nice of you to join us Floyd. I dig the new armor." Gaz said

"Thanks. I found it inside of Stone Bones Cave. My old combat armor isn't fit for use anymore." Floyd said

"Care to showcase your skills, Floyd?" Joshua asked

"I'll show both of you how it's done." He said and drew his Light Shining In Darkness pistol

He got into a strong shooting stance and emptied his clip. Each of the six shots found a bulls eye.

"I still got it."

After the three of them were finished at target practice, they returned to the Sorrows camp. Floyd began to clean his weapons and take inventory of all of his gear. Gaz sat beside him and scrubbed out the power armor with hot soapy water.

"Smells like the soldier shit on himself when you capped him." Floyd chuckled

"He sure as hell did. This armor reeks of burnt skin and partially digested MREs."

"I'm glad you took the hint when I convinced him to take off his helmet. We wouldn't have killed him any other way."

"There is a way. A weak spot in the armor. Its located right beneath the arms. Anything heavier than a .308 bullet will penetrate this spot." She stopped scrubbing and lifted the arm on the suit of armor so that Floyd could see

Floyd frowned "I really could have used that information when I was fighting him."

"I thought you knew what you were doing, you didn't look like you needed advice."

Floyd lifted up his shirt and showed Gaz the wound he received while fighting the soldier "Dose this wound look like I didn't need advice?"

"In my time it was common knowledge where the weak spot was located." Gaz scoffed

"Well I ain't from your time! And since you're the power armor expert, how come didn't YOU shoot him in the weak spot!"

"Power armor versus .12 gauge slugs and buckshot? That's the type small arms fire power armor was designed to protect against. I surprised those pulse slugs punched through. The only person who had a gun big enough to break through his armor was you and your big-ass automatic rifle."

"You could of said 'Hey Floyd, you should shoot him in the armpit.' Instead of letting me waste a shit load of ammo. Not to mention, two men died and I got shot,"

"Oh I'm sorry. I thought you were the survival expert! But I guess you'll need me to hold your hand next time we get in a fire fight." Gaz sassed

"Oh yeah? Next time a mother deathclaw slices you open I'll just leave you bleeding on the side of the road. Or maybe I'll just let a Super Mutant shoot you in the back of the head."

Gaz took a breath for a comeback but was interrupted by Joshua and Follows-Chalk

"You claim that you two are just partners, but you sure argue like a couple. Interesting." Joshua said, Floyd could see the grin beneath Joshua's bandages.

"We are just partners!" Both Gaz and Floyd said simultaneously

"Right. Anyway, I believe Follows-Chalk has something for you Floyd."

Follows-Chalk was holding a long object wrapped in a blanket. He smiled and gave it to Floyd.

"I find this at top of Red Gate. I think Father In The Cave used it. It belongs to you now." Follows-Chalk said

Floyd unwrapped the blanket, revealing an old service rifle. The French word "Arret!" was scrawled into the stock. Floyd took out the magazine and gasped

"Thank you…. Damn… This thing uses 12.7mm rounds. I have never seen a Service Rifle like this before."

"I'm not surprised. My brother Grant was issued one of those when he went to Canada. He called it his Survivalist Rifle. They used them at checkpoints in the north. I'm not sure how this rifle ended up this far south." Gaz said

"You think this rifle will penetrate power armor?" Floyd said to Gaz

"Not head on it won't, but if you aim for the weak spot I showed you, it will fly right through." Gaz explained

"Interesting. Why don't you slip into that armor and we'll test that theory of yours." Floyd joked

In response, Gaz reached over and poked Floyd's plasma burn

"Gah! Goddamn! Quit doing that!"

Gaz grinned and continued to scrub the stench out of the power armor.

"Come along Follows-Chalk. Let's give the couple some privacy." Joshua said with a laugh

"For the last time we are just partners!" Floyd called after him

"If you say so Floyd." Joshua said

Floyd rolled his eyes. But then bit his lip, he couldn't deny that he felt something for Gaz. It wasn't love, but it wasn't friendship. He stood up and wiped the gun-oil from his hands.

"I'm gonna go find us some dinner." He said

"Sounds good. I'm starving."

Floyd walked over to the kitchen tent. Gaz looked over the armor, she tried to scrub away the "E" painted onto the arm. After several failed attempts she grabbed a roll of duct tape and covered the Enclave insignia with two strips. She then took a permanent marker and wrote 251st on the patch of tape. She heard a distant buzzing noise and looked up. About twenty miles in the distance was the blinking lights of a Vertibird Helicopter. It was cruising over the horizon, Gaz knew it was only a matter of time before they would find her.

"Yo Gaz! Get over here!" Floyd yelled from inside a nearby cave

She sprang to her feet and readied her new .45 pistol. She ran into the cave, expecting to be met with a Legionary Death Squad or a heavily armored Enclave soldier. Instead she was met with dozens of smiling faces and smells of cooking food.

"The Sorrows and Dead Horses threw us a feast since this is our last day in Zion." Floyd said

There were over fifty people sitting cross-legged by a long cloth serving as the table. Gaz put her pistol away and smiled. She took a seat, Joshua was at the head of the table. He stood up and cleared his throat.

"Brothers and sisters of Canaan. Tribespeople of the Sorrows and Dead Horses. It is my great pleasure to recognize these two brave warriors, not as simple travelers passing through, but as true friends and disciples of Canaan. May the lord watch over them in their future endeavors. Amen."

"May the feast begin!" Floyd said

The tribespeople happily dug into the food. Gaz tapped Floyd's shoulder. "I saw a Vertibird in the distance, I think more are coming."

"What else is new? I know they are on their way, Legionary Assassins and Enclave soldiers alike. You need to relax, you are quite safe here. Enjoy the rest of your time in Zion. We are gonna walk a very hard road tomorrow."

"Hard road?"

"Uncharted territory. The whole length of road is crawling with raiders so neither the NCR or Legion wants anything to do with the place. It's a no-mans-land"

"And we are walking directly into it?"

"That's the plan. Better to fight the idiot raiders then the highly trained assassins and soldiers."

"As good a plan as any."

"As for now, you should stuff yourself with food and booze. This will be the last good meal we have in a long time."

Gaz nodded and took a plate of big horn and gecko meat. It tasted good, but Gaz couldn't fully appreciate the meal. She knew what was coming, and that thought hung around her neck like a millstone.


	9. The Radium Groves

After the massive feast, Gaz laid down on a bed roll and tried to rest. She tossed and turned but found sleep to be impossible. As she tried to sleep, she heard Floyd talking and joking in the tribal dialect. After about an hour, Floyd came stumbling over to his nearby bed roll. He was clutching a half empty bottle of Scotch and had cigarette loosely hanging between his lips.

"Are you sure this is a good time to get drunk?" Gaz said

"Seeing as how half the Legion is hunting me and half the Enclave is hunting you, I think now is a perfect time to get all fucked up." Floyd said, his voice slurred. He tossed Gaz the Scotch and laid down on his roll.

Gaz took a swig and sighed. "I sometimes dream I'm back in my own time, a time without legion and enclave. A time were I could stop fighting and killing and take a vacation every six months… and then I wake up here."

She waited for a response from Floyd but he stayed quiet. She glanced over, Floyd was fast asleep on his roll, the burning cigarette still on his lips. Gaz rolled her eyes and took a big drink of Scotch. As she wiped her mouth she noticed Joshua walking back to his tent. He was scanning over an old bible, he nodded at Gaz as he walked by.

"Hey Joshua…" Gaz said

"Yes, my disciple?"

"I take it you're a praying man. Right?"

"Yes. Ever since birth."

"So you believe in god then. Right?"

"With all my heart."

"Ok, I'm trying to understand something. Can you help me?"

"Of course, child." Joshua said

"So god created everything , right? The earth, the trees, the birds, all living things?" Gaz asked and took another gulp of Scotch

"Yes."

Gaz pointed to Floyd who was passed out drunk on his roll "Blondie over there?"

Joshua laughed "Yes, God created him too."

"What about nuclear bombs? Did god make those?" Gaz asked, her tone was suddenly serious

Before Joshua could answer Gaz asked another question "How about super mutants and, deathclaws? Or even worse, did god create the Legion and Enclave? Did he purposefully create evil men like those? Were they just one of god's fuck-ups?"

"Calm yourself, child. I've grappled with questions like these my entire life. Evil exists to serve as a balancing point. Sometimes we become balancing points ourselves. It all happens for a reason. That reason might not be apparent at first, but if you slow down and really search your world and self, the answer will come." Joshua said

Gaz swished the Scotch around in the bottle then looked up at Joshua. "And you really believe this?"

"Of course I do. I take it you don't?"

"Not really Joshua, no offence."

"None taken. Floyd is a non-believer too. I don't hold it against either of you."

Gaz grinned and offered the Scotch to Joshua.

"No thanks." He said

The next morning, to Gaz's surprise, Floyd had waken up before her and was busily putting his equipment together in the very early hours of the morning. He had a copper pot of coffee brewing over a camp fire which he periodically stopped at and filled up a mug at.

Gaz slowly rose out of bed, her head was pounding and she still felt somewhat drunk.

"Wakey Wakey." He said and tossed her a bottle of water and a tablet of Buffout. "This will help with the hangover. Give your armor and weapons the once over and suit up. We head out in in 20 minutes."

"Gotcha." She said and downed the pill. She tossed her old 10mm pistol and leather armor into a rucksack and Slipped into the power armor and the suit hummed to life. She slung the sack over her shoulder and glanced at Floyd. He was sitting on a rock writing something down on a sheet of paper. He weighted the paper down on his bed roll with a rock and stood up.

"Let's move out."

"You aren't even going to say goodbye?"

"That's what the paper is for. I ain't good at goodbye's and we ain't got time to waste. Joshua and the tribe will understand."

"If you say so."

The pair began their walk out of Zion to the south. Floyd led her to the pre-war road leading out of Zion. Floyd sighed as they passed the old "Welcome to Zion" sign.

"It's a shame. I thought we could have stayed longer. The Legion wouldn't dare sending troops to Zion, not with Joshua there. But those Enclave bastards…. They sure get bold with that armor."

Gaz nodded "Wearing the stuff can make you feel invincible. For a good reason."

They walked for the better part of the day until they came to the crest of a hill. Floyd stopped and looked into his binoculars. There was what looked like a Pine Tree forest in the distance. Floyd turned to Gaz.

"We're on the right track, but you see that woodland up ahead?" He asked

"Yeah."

"We have to pass through there. They call that place the Radium Groves; I've heard creepy shit goes on in there. The Dead Horses, The Sorrows and even the White Legs are too afraid to enter."

"So the Enclave and Legion won't follow us into the trees. Good thinking." Gaz said

"I know the Legion won't. But the Enclave…. I'm not sure about them."

They approached the massive forest. The Pine trees had mutated from the fallout and were now deformed in bulges and twisted into knots. Gaz got the feeling that something was something very off-putting and wrong about this forest. There was only one path leading through the woods, a pre-war hiking trail. As they entered, Floyd pulled his new Survivalist Rifle off his back and chambered a round.

"Keep alert. This place gives me the creeps."

Gaz in turn checked to make sure the 'medicine stick' rifle was loaded. As they walked further into the woods, they smelled something foul. Both Gaz and Floyd looked around for the source but didn't see anything. Something cold and wet dripped down from the trees and hit the back of Gaz's neck. She let out a high pitched squeal and grabbed at the back of her collar. Floyd laughed under his breath, Gaz glared at him. She took her hand away from the back of her neck and looked at it. There was blood smeared on her hand. Gaz looked up and gasped

"Uummm… Floyd?"

"What?"

"Look up."

The mutilated body of a man was hanging upside down from the twisted branches of the pine trees. His belly had been slit open and his entrails were dangling out. Cold, half thickened blood slowly dripped from the wound.

"You think whoever did this, is still in the area?" Gaz asked

"Are you kidding? They're probably watching us right now." Floyd said and glanced at his Pib-Boy.

He turned in a 360 degree circle and kept his eyes on his Pib-Boy's HUD then stopped when he saw a red dot. He looked up and whispered "Ten yards ahead."

The pair raised their rifles and advanced forward. There was collection of bushes ahead,

"Come out right now! I know you're there!" Floyd ordered

There was a rustle in the brush, then a very dirty and very short figure sprang out. The figure wore only a loin cloth and a hand carved wooden mask of a bear and was armed with a rusty kitchen knife. The figure thrust the blade into Floyds chest and the tip of the knife snapped off against the Desert Ranger Armor, Floyd didn't even feel it. He bashed his attacker in the head with the butt of his rifle, sending the figure to the ground. Once the figure was down, he jammed the rifle into the attackers mask but then paused. He reached down and pulled the mask off. It was just a child, a little girl no more than eight. The girl was out cold and had a nasty bruise on her head.

"Oh Jesus…." Floyd said and pressed his thumb against the girl's neck to check for a pulse

"Is she ok?" Gaz asked

"She's alive. I hope I didn't give her a concussion. I hit her pretty hard."

"There's probably more. She couldn't have lifted that dead body all by herself."

A stick broke behind them, Gaz whipped around to see another filthy, malnourished child in a mask running full speed at them. This one was armed with a meat cleaver and looked to be about thirteen. Gaz pulled out her black .45 pistol and tapped the V.A.T.S. key on her Pib-Boy. The Pib-Boy locked onto the child's weapon, one shot shattered the cleaver. The figure stopped dead in his track and put his hands up. Gaz kept her pistol trained on the wild-child

"I not mean it! Please! Please don't use fire-stick again!" The savage looking child said in broken English

"What the hell is wrong with you kid?! You looking to get shot?"

"We thinks you was one of them… Please! I good boy!"

"Gaz, that's enough. They're feral children, I don't think they knew any better."

Gaz softened up and put her .45 away.

"It's ok kid. It's ok. You said you thought we were 'one of them.' Who did you think we were?" Floyd asked

The kid pointed up at the corpse tied up in the tree "We thinks yous Bad Man. Like him. So we try to kill yous like we kill him."

"What did that man do to you?"

"He and friends point fire-sticks at us. So we run. He chase us and I make him dead."

"I see. Now you take your little friend there and get going. When the 'Bad Mans' friends see what you did to him, they are gonna be coming for you."

The Feral Child didn't need to be told twice. He kneeled down and shook his little companion by the shoulders. She slowly came to, then her eyes shot open and she panicked at the sight of Floyd and Gaz. The Feral boy said something to her in a series of grunts and animal like noises. The girl calmed down, then the two of them scampered up a mutated pine tree and disappeared into the foliage. Floyd looked up at the "Bad Man" the feral children had killed. The Man was dressed in typical Mercenary clothing; a leather vest with a red shirt underneath, a necklace of human teeth to represent his kills, and a bandolier of .308 rifle ammo.

"You ready to go?" Gaz asked

"Just a second." Floyd said and cut the rope holding the corpse up. The dead mercenary came tumbling to the ground. Floyd picked the ammo off the body and rummaged through the man's pockets for anything of value.

Gaz stared at him as he looted the corpse.

"How can you do that to someone? How'd you like it if someone looted your dead body?"

"Gaz, I am more than sure that someone will loot my dead body." Floyd said and stood up

"You're damn straight we are gonna loot your bodies!" A deep and raspy voice said from behind the two

Gaz and Floyd turned around to see a group of fifteen heavily armed men, they all wore different types of armor; leather, metal and combat. They also used different weapons, some had assault carbines, others had 10mm SMGs, others carried marksman carbines. With their complete lack of uniformity, Floyd knew they weren't Enclave or Legion.

"Howdy fellas! My companion and I don't have a quarrel with you, so I suggest we go our separate ways." Floyd said trying to sound friendly

"You don't have a quarrel with us eh? Well we got a quarrel with you. Ain't that right boys?" One of them said, he looked like the leader

"You guys don't look like raiders. I'm guessing you're hired guns right?"

"That's right pretty boy." The leader said

"Ok who's paying you? The Legion? The Enclave? One of my ex-girlfriends?" Floyd asked

"Ha! As if I'd tell you. Now… It's time for you to die." The mercenary captain said and raised his SMG

Floyd dove for cover as the hit men opened fire. Gaz however scoffed and began to walk forward directly into the enemy gunfire. The hit men's small arms bounced off the power armor as if they were throwing stones.

"Shoot em' empty boys." Gaz said and drew her .45

She took a deep breath, got into a strong shooting stance and opened fire. Each one of her seven shots nailed a mercenary in the head. With almost half of their force killed within half a minute, the remaining hit men retreated.

"After them!" Floyd said charging out from behind cover

Gaz struggled to keep up with him, the power armor somewhat restricted her movement. Floyd shouldered his Survivalist Rifle and rapidly fired off all ten shots. The huge 12.7mm rounds ripped through four of the mercenaries who had fallen behind the rest of the group. The pair chased the remaining hit men through the woods and into a wide open area that had been cleared of trees, it looked like a prewar picnic area. One of the mercenaries had a single shot grenade launcher. He turned around, leveled the launcher and Floyd and fired. Floyd ducked as the 40mm grenade whistled over his head, it flew through the trees and hit the main armored plate of Gaz's power armor. She was instantly knocked to the ground, a piece of shrapnel had cut open her cheek but she was otherwise unharmed.

"Gaz! You hurt?!"

Gaz could see Floyd's mouth moving, but only heard a high pitched ringing. She could feel blood dripping out of one ear. She motioned with her hands to keep moving. Floyd nodded and kept running. The Hit man with the grenade launcher opened the launcher and pulled out the spent shell, then slipped a new grenade into the weapon but before he could close it Floyd nailed him between the eyes. The three remaining hit men desperately fired at Floyd, he took cover behind a tree.

"Keep him pinned!" One of the mercs yelled

They were so focused on Floyd they didn't notice the armored Gaz advancing on them. She shouldered the Medicine Stick and shot one in the chest, a spurt of blood jetted from the wound. She racked the rifle and shot another one, he crumpled to the ground and twitched. The reaming hit man made a run for it into the forest. He managed to run for twenty paces before two small assailants dropped from the trees onto his back and mercilessly stabbed him in the torso and neck with kitchen knives. It was the feral children. They looked up at Gaz and Floyd with blood dripping off their chins and smiled

"We help? Yes?" The boy asked

"You sure did kid. Here, a little token of my gratitude." Floyd said and reached into his pack. He pulled out two bottles of Nuka Cola and gave them to the kids. They cheered and disappeared into the trees.

Gaz stood there watching the primate like children scamper up into the trees. She had never seen such savagery from such small kids. She cleaned the blood out of her ear with a handkerchief and the ringing slowly subsided. Floyd then began to pick through the bodies. This time Gaz joined him. Floyd took the Mercenary's Grenade Rifle, and twenty 40mm high explosive grenades and a few stimpacks. Gaz took a marksman carbine and ammo. As Floyd searched one body, it suddenly moved and rolled over onto its back. The half-dead mercenary had been hit just below the ribs and was bleeding badly.

"Oh Gaz! We got a live one over here!" Floyd said then looked the wounded mans in the eyes

"How ya doin asshole?" Floyd said and kicked the man in the head, knocking him out instantly. Floyd then jabbed a stimpack into the man's torso to stop the bleeding, then tightly bound the man's hands with rope.

"Ain't that a kick in the head."

"Why'd you waste a stimpack on his sorry ass? Why not just kill him and be done with it." Gaz said inspecting her looted carbine

"I need to know who paid him. We'll set camp here for tonight. Tomorrow I'll see if I can convince him to spill it."


	10. At Some Other Time And Place

The Sun had just dipped below the horizon, the moon began cast beams of light through the mutated pine trees. As darkness descended over the Radium Groves, Gaz and Floyd set up a perimeter for the night. The captured Mercenary laid passed out of the ground. For some reason Gaz felt completely exhausted. Floyd rigged a trip wire through the trees and attached tin cans to the wire as makeshift alarms. When he was done he turned to Gaz.

"Let me take a look at that cut on your cheek."

"It's nothing don't worry about it."

"Nonsense. You want to have a scar that big on your face? I don't think so. Now have a seat."

Gaz rolled her eyes and sat down on a log, Floyd then proceeded to wipe the blood away and then rub some of Daniel's medical cream into the cut.

"You won't need stitches. But you're lucky that shrapnel didn't take your eye out."

"I've had worse."

"Yes you have. You really should have taken the power armor helmet off of that soldier."

Gaz frowned "I hate wearing power-helmets. I can barely breath in them. And you're one to talk, you don't even have a helmet."

"I spend twenty minutes every morning getting my hair just right. If you think I'm gonna mess it up with head wear then you are mistaken."

Gaz smiled and yawned. "That fight with the Mercenaries really took it out of me for some reason."

"Fighting like a New Canaanite will quickly exhaust you. It requires ample amounts of concentration to shoot like that so only use the Canaanite technique when you REALLY need it… I'm not sure how Joshua dose it for so long."

Floyd finished treating Gaz's cut and put a bandage over it. The pair then gathered wood and made a fire. Floyd put some dried big horned next to the fire to heat up. The smell of cooking soon flooded the camp site and nearby woods. The two sat down and began to eat dinner. Floyds head perked up when he heard the trip wire and cans vibrate.

"Don't think I don't know you're there" Floyd called into the darkness. The two feral children slowly emerged from the shadows. Gaz could hear the children's stomachs grumbling.

"Get over here and get some food before you drop dead." Floyd said, and handed each of the children s bottle of water and a plate of meat.

"We friends? Yes?" The boy asked

Floyd chuckled "Yeah kid, we're friends."

"You and pretty lady are good friends to us. You not like Bad Man. I tell Mother in Forrest to watch over you."

"You have a mother? She's probably worried sick about you right now." Floyd said

"She not worried. She ALWAYS knows where we are." The boy said licking his dirty fingers

After dinner the feral children scaled the trees and disappeared. Floyd cracked a smile

"They sure are cute. I remember when I was their age, it was rough, but at least I had the privilege of growing up as an orphan in Freeside, not the complete wilderness."

"What are the chances that those two could survive out here for such a long time?"

"Luck favors certain people. Do you know what the chances of surviving a headshot are?"

"Less than .05% I think."

"That low? Damn I really am lucky… My point is you will discover crazier things in the wasteland. Like you not turning ghoul like everyone else in those tubes."

"Right. Joshua said it all happens for a reason."

"That's one way of looking at it. I try to see all things and occurrences as acts of chance. Tell me, have you ever heard of the multi universe theory?" He asked

"Yeah. Hugh Everett. For every possible outcome there is a universe that corresponds to that outcome."

"Exactly. You see this scar on my head?" He asked and pulled back his hair "I was shot in the head by a ratty-fink named Benny. You said the chances of surviving a headshot are .05%? Do you know what that means?"

Gaz thought for a minute "It means nearly infinite universes exist where you get killed by Benny?"

"Isn't that fucking amazing? It means that there is a universe out there where the Great War never happened. Where you woke up from stasis to a land of peace and prosperity. I guess there's also a universe out there where the Enclave got to you first. My point is; the most unlikely situations will occur at some place and time, just as long as there is a possibility. Doesn't that explain so much of the random and crazy shit that happens?"

"So there's a universe where you work for the legion." Gaz joked

"I doubt that…"

"Would you two shut up!? You're giving me a goddamn migraine!" A hoarse voice said. The captured mercenary had regained consciousness and was sitting up

"Oh good. The scum sucking gun-for-hire came too." Floyd said and walked over to him. Floyd sat down cross-legged in front of him then carefully began to look over the mercenary. He was a ragged looking man; bald, scars on his grotesque face, there was also bruises all over his arms from where he had injected needles. Floyd took a smell of the air

"You stink of cheap vodka." Floyd said and stood up. He began to slowly walk in circles around the man.

"Do you know how long three inches is?" Floyd asked

"What does that have to do with anything?" The man snarled

"Three inches is the distance my bullet missed your spine by." He continued to walk in circles around the man. Floyd saw the bruises on his arms and laughed

"You didn't get those bruises from injecting stimpaks did you? What's your fix pal?"

"Fuck you! So what if I like my chems?" The man said and spat on Floyd's boot

"Hey, hey, hey man, I ain't a square. I sometimes like to partake in chems and reefer to. Heh, I'd even smoke one with you right now if I wasn't tryin' to pry the info out of you…"

"You go to hell! Whatever you do to me, my employer will do double if I squeal."

It was as if Floyd didn't even hear him "….Ya see I personally like buffout and whisky myself. But a puff of jet and just a tad of psycho will always give me a good kick on a rainy day. Judging from the bags under your eyes I'm guessing you like your MedX? "

The mercenary's eyes went wide, then he smirked at Floyd "It takes a junky to know a junky."

Floyd laughed "Look here buddy. When I was a teenager in Freeside I did a good bit of chems. I'll admit that. But I had the wherewithal to visit the Followers of the Apocalypse and they cleaned me up. Addiction is a horrible disease, and a man in your position should never become addicted." Floyd then rummaged through the man's shirt pockets. He smiled when he found what he was looking for; ten brand new syringes of MedX.

"I knew it. MedX. You can always tell by the eyes."

The mercenary's face dropped when he saw his entire stash in Floyd's hand "Hey careful man. That's some expensive high grade shit right there!"

"Good to know." Floyd said and began to empty one of the syringes onto the ground.

"Hey! That's the good stuff! Don't waste it!" The mercenary said as he watched the MedX soak into the dirt

"Waste it? Like this?" Floyd said and emptied another syringe

"Don't do this to me man! I need my fix!"

"You did this to yourself."

One by one Floyd emptied the merc's supply of MedX onto the ground until there was only one left. The battle hardened hit man had tears in his eyes as he looked at the small, very expensive puddle of pain killer. Floyd placed the remaining syringe in front of the man, but kept it out of his reach. Floyd looked at the syringe, then looked at the man.

"Have you ever gone through MedX withdrawal? It's one of the least pleasant experiences you will ever have. Worse than any kind of torture."

The hit man didn't talk, he only stared at the needle in front of him and shivered with an inner cold.

"You know what you need to tell me. If you're a good dog, then I'll give you a treat. But if you're a bad dog, you get nothing. Only more junk-sickness."

"You're a sadist…" He muttered

"Only when I'm at Gomorrah and only when I'm on top." Floyd said and picked up the needle. He squeezed a little drop out onto his finger and licked the MedX off. "Mmmm. That brings me back… I feel a little high just tasting the stuff. You get this off Dixson?"

The cold sweat ran down the mercenary's forehead. He reminded Gaz of a dog begging for scraps at the dinner table. The man clenched his fists and ground his teeth.

"I'll give you the rest of the night to maul it over. Tomorrow morning is gonna be hell for you without a fix, so I'd start talking before the REAL symptoms of withdraw start to take hold. You're gonna get the shakes, the chills, night terrors, maybe a bad hallucination or two…" Floyd said and walked over to his bed role.

It didn't take the full night for the hit man to crack. As the cruel symptoms of MedX addiction set in, the will of the mercenary broke.

"The Legion… We were paid by a Legionary Centurion called Gaius Magnus. Now please I can't take it anymore! Give me my fix!" The man said in-between sobs

Satisfied with his answer, Floyd got up and jabbed the syringe into the man's arm. The mercenary let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank you man! You are truly merciful!" He said

"I have mercy. The Legion dose not. Do you know what they're gonna do to you if they find out you failed to kill me?"

"I hear they have a thing for crucifying people." The said, his voice began to slur from the MedX

"In your case, they're probably gonna show you your guts before they nail you up. I recommend you leave the country before they find you." Floyd said and untied him

"So that's it? You're just gonna let me go?"

"I could kill you if you want" Floyd said half serious/half joking

"I'll just make my way out of here then." The mercenary said and began to limp away

"Hold up" Floyd said, the man turned around

"It really sucks going through withdraw on the trail. Take this." Floyd then tossed him a small tin case of fixer

The hit man smiled "You're a good man. Most folks would simply kill a mercenary-scumbag like me, but you spare me AND give me a little upper. Tell you what, there's an abandoned hunting lodge at the southeast edge of the forest. That's where you'll find Gaius Magnus."

"Interesting, is there anything else we should know?"

"Yeah, he's a real hard ass. He dominated the 87th tribe for the Legion. Unlike other legionaries he uses a goddamn minigun, he keeps it loaded with armor piercing rounds. So you and your power-armored girlfriend need to keep your distance or get ripped to shreds." The hit man said

"We're just partners!" Both Gaz and Floyd said simultaneously

"Ok Ok jeez. I'm just saying. Thanks for the fixer paly, I'm getting the fuck out of this forest."

"You should really consider changing your profession if you want to live longer." Floyd said

"I could say the same to you, Walker." He said

"How'd you know my name?"

"We both know that ain't your real name. Everyone in Legion territory knows you, Walker. Caesar put a wanted poster of you in every settlement in Arizona. Anyway, tootles." He said and hobbled away

Walker nodded and returned to the campfire.

"You used to be an addict?" Gaz asked

"Hey! It's the end of the friggin' world! Sometimes there's not much else to do except sit around and get high. So I can't judge him… At some other time and place that could have been me."

The next morning, Floyd sleepily sat up in his bed role. He glanced over, Gaz was flat on her back asleep, her armor had a padded interior so it felt like a bed. He walked over to a tree and unzipped his trousers. As he relieved himself he heard a heavy breathing. He rubbed his half asleep eyes and glanced up. A massive black object was sitting fifty feet in front of him. He zipped back up his pants and then focused ahead of him. The object was the biggest Yao Guai Floyd had ever seen, standing a full three feet taller than him. This one was different from the others, aside from its monstrous size, it had a nearly full coat of thick black fur unlike the regular mangy and bald Yao Guai. The only weapon Floyd had on him was his .45, the rest of his guns were by his bed roll. He slowly walked backwards, he knew if he turned his back the Yao Guai would instantly come after him.

"Gaz!" he sharply whispered

Gaz didn't hear him and remained fast asleep. He continued to walk backwards, the Yao Guai then took a few steps toward him.

"Gaz!"

"Five more minutes…"

"Open your eyes and look what's coming." He said under his breath

Gaz opened her eyes and stretched, when she saw the giant Yao Guai she froze

"Do not make any sudden movements. Hand me my rifle." He said and reached behind him, not taking his eyes off the mutant

Gaz handed him his 12.7mm Survivalist Rifle. He got down on one knee and took aim. He placed the front sight on the left eye of the creature and wrapped his finger around the trigger.

"STOP! Don't hurt Mother In Forrest!" The Feral Children had dropped out of the trees and put themselves between Floyd and the Yao Guai

"Kid, get out of here! That Guai will kill you both!"

"She not kill us! She our Mother!"

Floyd slowly lowered the rifle.

"Your mother?"

"She love for us and care for us. She not hurt you! I promise!" The boy pleaded

The colossal mutated bear looked at Gaz and Floyd. It had a different look in its eye then other mutants. A tamer, almost compassionate look. Floyd nodded and put the rifle down. The feral children climed atop the Yao Guai's massive shoulders and then the bear lumbered away.

"I've been as far east as Colorado, and I've seen a lot of oversized critters. But that was the biggest fucking Yao Guai I've ever seen in my entire life. Good to know it's on our side."

"One less thing we have to fight I suppose."

"Speaking of _things _we have to fight, I believe Gaius Magnus is waiting for us at the edge of the Radium Groves. We should go pay him a visit."

_**Author's Note: Hello my loyal readers! Sorry if this chapter was a little uneventful. Anyway, should I start writing smaller chapters? There would be less content but they would be quicker to write. OR should I write longer chapters? There would be more content but would take longer to write. Also, I am open for suggestions for the story,**_

_**~ChopChop21**_


	11. The Wrath of Gaius Magnus

After Floyd used the power of addiction to make the Mercenary spill his secrets, the pair set out to hunt the Legionary Centurion who had paid him. Floyd slowly moved through the trees with his Automatic Rifle in hand with a round in the chamber and the safety off. He kept low to the ground, careful to avoid stepping on sticks, leaves and anything else that could make noise. Gaz slowly lumbered on behind him with her Marksman Carbine loaded and ready. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't remain quiet; the bulky power armor's hydraulics were constantly clicking and whirring and every step she took made a distinct metallic thud. Floyd looked back at her and whispered

"You wanna make any more racket? Gaius Magnus can probably hear you on the other side of the Grove."

"In case you didn't know, T-51B armor isn't designed for stealth. It's actually designed to make a distinct mechanical noise to scare the enemy." Gaz said under her breath

"That is the dumbest feature I've ever heard of… Why would you want the enemy to know you're coming?"

"It certainly worked in Alaska. The Chinese soldiers would run away before they even saw me. I bet those skirt-wearing legion troops will piss themselves at mere sight of me."

"There is a motto I've heard a few legionaries yell in combat. How did it go…" Floyd said scratching his head "Oh yeah: NOT ONE STEP BACK. The Legionaries don't retreat. They would sooner kill themselves then be captured or retreat. I've even seen them strap C-4 to their chests and throw themselves onto armored targets."

Gaz rolled her eyes and scoffed "What are you worried about? Remember the last time a squad of legion assassins tangled with us? We took them down in literally less than five minutes. I just want to hunt this dress wearing pansy down so we can get the hell out of this creepy-ass forest."

"So that's what the legion is to you? A bunch of loony sissies who wear women's clothing?"

Gaz laughed "Yeah it is."

Floyd nodded "Let me tell you a little something about the legion. We got lucky with the last group of legionaries who attacked us. Those were probably recruits sent to soften us up. Those aren't the true soldiers of the legion. No, the TRUE soldiers of the legion are Centurions. They are combat veterans who have been with Cesar since before the Battle of The Hoover Dam. They are experts with guns, knives, spears… their bare hands. They do not care if they get hurt or if they get killed. They do not care if you wear power armor or have them hopelessly out gunned. They will walk directly into incoming enemy fire and do what they do best: Kill people. You don't have to like them Gaz, in fact I flat out hate them. But you damn well better respect them, or they WILL kill you. Do you get me?"

Gaz's eyes went wide. She swallowed and said "Ok. I got you."

"Good. Now listen up. I need to get the jump on him and with you clomping around in that armor he'll know we're coming. You need to back up and move slower, but keep me in sight. It looks really easy to get lost in these woods…"

"Ok, I'll keep you covered."

They pair slowly advanced farther south into the Radium Groves. Floyd nimbly maneuvered thought the twisted and mutated trees. Gaz carefully crept about fifty yards behind him, trying to keep her movements to a minimum to reduce the mechanical noises. Suddenly Floyd raised his right hand and made a fist, signaling for Gaz to stop. He pulled out his machete and drizzled some bleak venom onto the blade. He evenly spread the poison on with a rag and waited behind a tree. A single red dot appeared on the HUD of their Pib-Boys. Ahead of them was a lone legionary soldier, probably a scout. He casually walked through the woods, he had his hunting rifle out but had it lowered. Gaz watched his every move through the scope of her Marksman Carbine. Floyd raised his machete as the lone scout approached the tree he was hiding behind. When the scout passed, Floyd slid the blade across the unarmored section of the scout's arm. The razor sharp machete quickly sank into the man's flesh. He jumped back in surprise and took a deep breath, but before he could call for help the bleak venom set in. He began to choke on his own vomit and then crumpled to the ground and began to convulse. Floyd took all the .308 ammo off the body. He looked over the ammo box and frowned. He quietly snuck back to where Gaz was waiting.

"This guy has armor piercing rounds. I think they're expecting us."

"Well then, let's not leave then disappointed." Gaz whispered

They walked further through the forest. Floyd noticed a picture of a bull crudely painted to a tree to serve as a mile marker. He knew they were getting closer. Ahead of them was what looked like an opening in the trees. Floyd peeked though and saw the hunting lodge the hit man had told them about. He motioned for Gaz to move up. Once she was beside him he said

"The mercenary was telling the truth. The old hunting lodge is just ahead in the clearing. I'll go first, you stay here and cover me. If things go to hell I want you to come out of cover guns blazing. Remember: only use the training Joshua gave you when you really need it. If you do it too much you'll wear yourself out to quickly."

"Got it. Magnus will regret ever sending a hit squad after us."

Floyd made sure the coast was clear, then bolted into the clearing. He didn't stop running until he got to the hunting lodge. He got the feeling something was off, there wasn't a living soul anywhere. Assuming Gaius Magnus was inside the lodge, he crept to the front door and grabbed the grenade launcher off his pack. To his surprise, the door was unlocked. He slightly opened the door, just enough so that he could fit the barrel of the grenade launcher through and fired a 40mm high explosive round into the lodge. The windows shattered, the walls heaved, and columns of smoke and dust came flying out the doors and empty window frames. He kicked the door down and charged in rifle first. Gaz watched it all through the scope on her carbine. She was expecting all hell to break lose and automatic gunfire to erupt. Instead, Floyd exited the smoking house. He had put his Automatic Rifle and grenade launcher away and had a look of disappointment on his face.

"Come on out Gaz. He ain't here."

Gaz stood up and walked into the clearing "What do you mean?"

"I mean he ain't here. Either the intel was bad or he got wind of us and fled. Come on, we'll stay here for tonight." He said

The two waited for the smoke and dust to clear in the lodge before entering. The 40mm H.E. blast had shattered all the furniture and left a scorch mark on the floor. A radio lay on its side playing the song "_Big Iron." _ The fireplace remained intact however so Floyd lit a fire with the broken chairs and table, then took off his heavy pack and put it in the corner. Gaz sat down on the hearth of the fireplace and unbuckled the latches of her armor. She slipped out of the suit of hydraulics and servos and stretched; it felt good to not have her movements restricted. She was dressed only in a military issue bra and short shorts, both of which were turning grey from her sweat and grease from the armor. She quickly caught Floyd eyeing up her scantily clad figure.

"Stop staring at my tits, cowboy."

He quickly turned his head. For the first time, Gaz could see Floyd blushing.

"Nothing I haven't already seen."

Gaz pulled her leather armor out of her pack and slipped the pants on, then walked over and punched Floyd in the arm.

"That reminds me…" She said and turned around

"How are the scars on my back looking?" She motioned to the three massive perpendicular scars from where the Mother Deathclaw had slashed her.

"They're big, unsightly, and make you look like a total badass."

"Way to make a girl feel better about herself. You're supposed to say 'oh I can barely see them'"

"Why are you self-conscious about those scars? I would wear them like a badge of honor. They mean you lived."

"They mean I was running like a coward with my back turned to the enemy. Plus, I almost got you killed…"

"Gaz, look at me. You. Are. FEARLESS. I mean it."

She smiled and rubbed the gashes that began on her shoulder. She pulled the shirt to the leather armor on and turned around to look at Floyd.

"Thank you."

She gave him a hug and kissed him in the cheek. They stood there for a while, in each other's arms and in the dim glow of the fire and in the bight beams of moon light that shinned through the broken windows. Gaz looked up at Floyd, and he looked down at her.

"Are you sure we're just partners?" she asked

"We ARE just partners. But maybe just for tonight we can be a little more." He took a deep breath and kissed her

The cold and toughened hearts of the Pre-War Soldier and the Courier Known As Walker began to warm up and soften. The moment they shared was brief. As soon as they broke the kiss Floyd looked up and froze. His eyes were focused dead ahead through the window frame.

"What's wro-" Gaz began but was cut off

"Shhh! He's here."

Gaz listened carefully, she could hear her own heartbeat, then she could hear whispering outside.

"Get down." Floyd said and they both dropped to the floor

In an instant, the forest outside lit up like a strobe light. The muzzle flashes of over a dozen rifles rapidly appeared. Then there was the sound of an electric motor, then the district "BRRRRT" noise of a minigun rumbled to life and roared through the night like thunder. Thousands of bullets shredded through the hunting lodge walls, splinters of woods went flying everywhere. The shooting abruptly stopped, Floyd looked up to see a legionary soldier standing in the door frame. The soldier was wearing a vest of dynamite and C-4.

"YOUR DEATH FOR THE LEGION'S RETRIBUTION!" He bellowed and hit the detonator.

Floyd threw himself on top of Gaz. The following explosion blew the front end of the cabin clean off. As soon as the Legionary sacrificed himself, the shooting resumed. Floyd's Desert Ranger armor had protected the both of them. They crawled forward and out the gaping hole that used to be the front door, Gaz managed to grab her Marksman Carbine before leaving. When the legionaries stopped to reload, the pair got up and bolted into the cover of the trees. The legionaries quickly gave chase, Gaius Magnus appeared from the shadows, his minigun smoking, and patently waited for them to return.

"Shit! Most of my, gear is back in the lodge." Floyd said and drew his .45

"Mine too." Gaz said and checked her carbine

A .308 rifle slug whistled past Floyd's ear. Another legionary came running through the trees and racked the bolt on his rifle. Floyd shot him in the throat.

"We need to split up, we'll be harder to track that way. I'll take the left, you take the right. We'll loop around the clearing and regroup on the other side."

"Got it."

The pair took to the trees, five of the assassins went after Gaz, the other six after Floyd. Magnus however waited patiently in the clearing. Gaz blindly ran through the trees, every so often a rifle shot rang out. She looked behind her but kept running, the Legionaries were out of sight but not far behind. Suddenly she ran into something soft and fell on her bottom. She looked up to see a young legion recruit, he looked just as startled as she was. Before he had time to react Gaz gunned him down with five shots to the chest, then got up and kept running. Meanwhile, the six assassins were quickly closing in on Floyd. He tapped the V.A.T.S key on his Pib-Boy and locked onto an assassin's head. The .45 round flew through his visor and then bounced around inside his helmet, liquefying his brain. Another one of the assassins came at Walker with a machete gladius. Floyd didn't take time to aim, he fired three rounds from the hip. Two of them hit the legionary's arm and shattered the bone, he screamed in pain and dropped the blade. The Courier finished him off with a point-blank shot to the face and then grabbed the man's machete. He reloaded his Light Shining In Darkness Pistol and kept fighting. With his .45 in his right hand and machete in his left, he turned around and charged into the remaining hit men. He raised the blade high above his head and in an elegant flick of his wrist, cleaved into an assassin's throat, then held up the .45 and shot down another assassin. He ripped the blade out of the legionary's neck, after seeing such brutality the other three hit men were apprehensive about attacking.

"If you run I'll let you go." Floyd said

"Not one step back men!" An assassin called and ran forward with a spear.

Floyd impaled him on the machete and used him as a human shield. The last two assassins unloaded their assault carbines at Floyd, their bullets impacting on the body. After hearing the soft metallic click of their empty rifles, Floyd dropped the body and fired three shots into each of them. He stood there panting and felt warm blood trickle down his arm. A bullet had grazed him, but he was so hopped up on adrenaline he hadn't even felt it. The slide on his pistol was locked back signifying it was empty. He had two clips left, the rest were back at the lodge. He reloaded and walked back into the clearing to face Gaius Magnus. The Centurion known as Magnus was standing in plain view in the clearing, he was a massive beast of a man clad in personalized armor and had a Veteran Legionary at each of his flanks. He actually put down his minigun and smiled when he saw Floyd.

"Hello Walker."

"You must be Gaius Magnus, dominator of the 87th tribe. Did you honestly think a pack of low-level mercenaries could take me down?"

"Of course not. It was just a test, and I knew they'd lead you directly to me."

"So what's this about? Is it because I killed Aurelius of Phoenix? Or maybe Vulpes Inculta?"

"You sad pathetic fool. Your crimes against the legion extend far beyond the deaths of a few lieutenants. This is for what you did to Hopeville and Ashton…."

"What are you talking about? I've only passed through Hopeville and Ashton once in my entire life. And that was for a simple package delivery."

"You have no idea don't you? You brought a package to these places, when the package began to speak it tore open the ground and released fires from the lowest Tartarus."

"Quit talking in riddles. I delivered a package and left."

"Yes. You did. You brought the apex of destruction and fled like a coward as Hopeville and Ashton burned. In delivering the package, you gave a thousand of my legion brothers a fate worse than death. You marked them for the rest of their sad miserable lives."

Floyd smiled "I still don't know what you're talking about. But I'm glad I could give a few Legionaries a fitting fate."

Magnus then let out a laugh "You also gave the same fate to thousands of your NCR brothers… And untold amounts of civilians."

Floyd stopped smiling. "You liar."

Magnus picked up his minigun "Enough talking. I will present your head to Caesar on a plate of silver."

The six barrels of the gun bagan to spin, the Veterans leveled a pair of long barreled .44 magnums at Floyd. He ducked as an arch of gunfire flew over his head and rolled behind the hunting lodge. The two Veterans chased him around the corner, the Courier immediately fired four shots into the gut of the first one he saw. The second veteran managed to hit Floyd in the shoulder, but the Desert Ranger Armor absorbed it. Floyd whipped around and pointed the gun at the veterans head. He fired the remaining two shots and hit the veteran in the chin. The .45 round flew through his spinal cord and he crumpled. He didn't have time to rest; a long bust of 5mm rounds from Magnus ripped past him. One of the many rounds zipped clean through the fleshy part Floyd's calf and it stung like a hundred hornets. He grit his teeth and ran around the lodge and loaded the last clip into his pistol. Magnus slowly chased him, the weight of the minigun slowing him down. Floyd kept running as fast as he could around the lodge, he had a plan, and needed to get behind the Centurion for it to work. Finally he caught up with Magnus, he had his back turned. Floyd raised his pistol and unloaded into the back-pack of the mingun. Magnus turned around, raised the minigun and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. The batteries in the minigun's back pack had been shot full of holes. Floyd holstered his empty pistol and hauled out the machete gladius. Magnus dropped the now useless minigun and threw off the shot-up battery pack. Then he too, drew his blade. Gaz arrived just in time to witness the two square off. She had killed her pursuers and figured she had about five rounds left in her carbine. She raised the weapon and placed the crosshairs on Magnus's head.

"No. This is between me and him." Floyd said

"For the legion." Magnus said and took a swing

Floyd blocked it and the blades rang out. Magnus moved in at an almost inhuman speed and slashed Floyd across the chest. The blade left a gouge in Floyds armor. He jumped back and readied himself.

"I will eat your heart when I'm done." Magnus said

Floyd moved in and struck a blow across his helmet. Magnus nailed him with an uppercut in response. Floyd stumbled back. The courier reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small glass bottle filled with green liquid and popped the cork out.

"I've been saving this Weapon Binding Ritual for something like this." He said and drank the mixture

Both Gaz and Magnus watched in confusion and Floyd dropped to his knees and clutched his stomach. He coughed and spat up blood, then fell over.

"Oh god…" Gaz said almost whispering and ran over to Floyd,

"How hilarious. The mighty Walker himself would rather drink poison and commit suicide then face me." Magnus gloated

Gaz felt tears form in her eyes. Suddenly Floyd stood up.

"What the hell was that? Are you Ok?" Gaz asked.

It was as if he didn't even hear her and got on his feet. He had a strange look in his eyes, as if he was in a trance. Magnus raised an eyebrow and readied himself. Floyd came at him like a wild man, their blades clashed with a ring. Floyd reared his arm back and swung his machete into Magnus's bicep. Floyd put so much force behind the blade that it cut through the chainmail and sliced into the flesh, it stuck into the bone with a loud "thunk!" noise. Magnus screeched and jumped back, in doing so he ripped the machete out of his arm with a spray of blood. Floyd relentlessly swung at Magnus, who was rapidly losing blood. The radio inside the lodge suddenly began to play the song _"Butcher Pete."_

"_He's hackin! And whackin! And smackin! He's hackin! And whackin! And smackin! He's hackin! Whackin! Chopping that meat!" _ The radio said in a scratchy electric voice as Floyd swung away.

The Centurion managed to deflect one of the courier's blows and lunged forward. His blade sliced the unarmored side of Floyd, just below the ribs. The courier didn't even twitch, he pulled his arm back and plunged it forward into the center of Magnus's chest, the blade buckled on the armored steel plate then whistled into the Centurion's heart. Gaius Magnus, dominator of the 87th tribe then fell to his knees as blood rapidly poured out of the wound.

The courier stood there panting with blood dripping from his hands, he pulled the machete out of the wound with a hideous sucking noise and said "I got you…"

Magnus looked at Floyd and took his last breath "When you see what you've done to Hopeville and Ashton hehehe… The truth… the truth of The Divide will break you….Heheheh…." the Centurion died laughing

With his adrenaline running thin and the Weapon binding ritual potion wearing off, Floyd began to feel dizzy. His vison began to fade and then, as if someone had pulled a black curtain over his eyes, he passed out.


	12. The Betrayal of a Fellow Courier

Dark clouds rolled in and coved the Radium Groves in shadows. The air was thick with the smell of death and burnt gunpowder. Gaz dragged an unconscious Floyd into the hunting lodge through the blast hole left by the suicide bomber. She set him down on the floor and searched through the ruble for their equipment. She found Floyd's pack under a pile of broken 2x4s, everything seemed intact. She got two stimpacks out of the first-aid section and injected them into Floyd's wounds. The Courier suddenly took a deep breath and opened his eyes, his pupils were dilated to the size of dimes.

"Are you Ok?" She asked

Floyd mumbled something unintelligible then leaned over. He took three deep breaths then puked up a mixture of blood and bile.

"That a boy. Get it all out."

Gaz had next to no training in terms of medicine, she felt sort of useless just watching as Floyd suffered. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up so he wouldn't pass out in his own vomit. Once she knew Floyd was safe, she recovered her own gear. Aside from a few new dents and scratches, her power armor was fully intact. She put the suit on and hit the main power, then slipped a fresh mag into her Marksman Carbine and kept watch for a legion counter attack. Every noise she heard outside made her jump. She rummaged through Floyd's backpack and found a bottle of cateye, she swallowed a few tabs and suddenly her vison was illuminated with blue light. With her chem-induced night vision, she got back to watch. Floyd would occasionally toss and turn and murmur something to himself.

His eyes suddenly snapped open

"Can you hear me? Are you all there?" Gaz asked

Floyd looked at her and then around at his surroundings. He was breathing fast and had a wild look in his dilated eye "Where the hell am I… Wait… He's dead right?! Magnus is dead?!"

Gaz pointed to the Centurion's corpse through the window. The body was sitting in a pool of blood. "Are you sure you're OK? What was that you drank back there?"

"It was a Weapon binding ritual, extra strong batch too. Root Layer made it for me. You sacrifice some blood for extra strength in combat… It's also mostly made of dartura and peyote so it makes you hallucinate." Floyd explained, his voice had an odd bubbliness to it.

"Are you hallucinating right now?" Gaz asked

"I am tripping like a motherfucker." Floyd said and looked at his hands "Whoaa…."

"So it's all up to me to keep watch tonight?" Gaz said slightly annoyed

"That's a fact Jack. I need some time to recollect myself and recover."

"Recollect?"

"I guess you could call it meditation. Magnus accused me of wiping out two whole cites. I need to find out what the hell he was talking about."

"How do plan to find that out? Last I checked, Gaius Magnus was face down in a pool of blood and he ain't about to tell you."

"Oh Gaz… Your PreWar thinking makes you give up too easily. There are other ways… But you need to search deep within yourself." He said and reached into his back pack. He rummaged around for a minute then pulled out a small leather pouch. He stuck his thumb and index finger into the pouch and pulled out a pinch of ground-up plants and herbs.

"Dartura roots and horse nettle. The Sorrows say chewing these sacred plants will revive even the most deeply buried memories." He said and sprinkled the mixture into his mouth.

His face grimaced as he chewed the herbs.

"I never get used to the taste." Walker said and sat down cross legged. Before doing anything else he struck a match and burnt some of the herbs and breathed in the smoke. He then closed his eyes and folded his hands in his lap. He took long, deep controlled breaths.

"This is never gonna work. Look I know that you have some kind of weird tribal connection and all that, but I don't think it's gonna do anything here. If you forgot then you forgot, and whacky tribal traditions won't help. Plus, Magnus probably just said those things to mess with you." Gaz said and rolled her eyes

"The Legion doesn't mess around. If they accuse you of something, then they damn well mean it. And don't be so quick to judge something that you don't understand. And those "weird tribal traditions" saved both of our lives in the past… Now stop talking, I'm trying to recollect…. I'm trying to find myself."

"Alright, if you think getting high on Dartura will help you then be my guest. I still think it's a huge waste of time."

Floyd didn't respond, Gaz shook her head. All of Floyd's talk of meditation, psychedelics drugs and finding himself reminded Gaz of the PreWar hippie movement. She had always stuck up her nose at these types of people, but seeing Floyd seriously involved in a spiritual journey made her reconsider. He would occasionally say something either in English or in tribal dialect.

"…Between Hopeville and Ashton? I dunno, that's a long way off…" Floyd said in his sleep

Gaz could remember the Pre-War versions of Hopeville and Ashton, she had once been assigned to the military base there.

"… Ok. Ok. Two Thousand caps, and I'll deliver your package…" He said softly

He sometimes would stand up and walk a few paces, then sit back down. His eyes were half opened, his pupils were dilated to different sizes. Floyd remained in this trance for the rest of the night and into the next day. Gaz watched him the entire time to make sure he didn't get up and wander off into the woods. At midday, he returned from his hallucination.

"So, did you find yourself?" Gaz asked mockingly

"No… I found something worse. I remember now. The package I delivered…. I was paid to deliver a package to a settlement directly between Hopeville and Ashton. The guy who paid me was unusually well dressed and clean, he didn't talk much either. And the package itself was weird, it was a small metal box… maybe some kind of computer. It was all covered in these weird markings, they looked like they were from before the war… The thing I don't understand is how the hell a little package could wipe out two entire cities."

"Have you been to Ashton or Hopeville since your delivery?"

"No. People don't go to Ashton or Hopeville anymore. When I arrived for the first time the place was a battlefield waiting to happen. Both the NCR and Legion wanted those cities for supply hubs, last I heard a huge clash broke out between the two sides. I entered through the NCR held territory and arrived at the delivery spot. After about two hours a little eyebot showed up, took the package and dropped a fat sack of caps."

"Caps?" Gaz asked

"Money. Anyway, I've delivered packages to robots before, but this one seemed pretty high tech, I assumed it was an NCR eyebot or a privately owned bot."

"That's interesting… The U.S. government was pretty secretive about the Eyebot series, not sure how people in this day and age could get ahold of one." Gaz said

"Hmmm… That's good to know, but doesn't explain how Magnus knew that I made the delivery." Floyd said standing up. He walked out the hole in the wall and began to search the body of Gaius Magnus.

Gaz walked out and yawned, she had been awake all night keeping an eye on Floyd. The Courier then pulled a holotape out of Magnus' rear pocket. He plugged it into his PibBoy and turned up the volume. The voice on the tape was very deep and commanding,

"Gaius,

I've followed him for some time now and he still hasn't noticed my presence. He remains ignorant of his actions concerning Hopeville and Ashton, he truly thinks it was just another package delivery. I trailed him from the Mojave to Zion, on his return trip he appeared to have added a companion to his company. His companion is well trained, her skills rivaling his own. I watched the two of them eliminate an entire nest of Deathclaws, and saw his companion survive a swipe from the Nest Mother. I witnessed them take down a squad of our assassins, but more impressively I watched them kill a man in power armor. For some reason the Enclave has returned from the dead and have taken much interest in his companion. His last known location was at the northern end of the Radium Groves, you know what you need to do. As for myself, I'm heading to the Grand Canyon. Caesar tells me that there is a presence New Canaanites there, and for me to eliminate them.

Ave, True to Caesar.

~Ulysses."

Floyd was quiet. He shook his head in disgust

"It's a shame such a talented courier would whore himself out to the legion… Not only that, but he sold out a fellow courier…. Well, at least I was right about the Grand Canyon." Floyd stood up

"Ulysses… That's the courier you telling me about. You still think this guy is worth saving?" Gaz asked

"He Legion now… He's… He's lost."

Floyd had a look of sadness in his eyes, as if he had just learned a friend had died. He wolfed down a can of pork and beans without even heating them up and tossed a package of salsbury steak to Gaz.

"Eat up and check your gear. We are leaving in five minutes."

"Five minutes? You just spent the last day and a half on a serious drug trip, don't you want to wait until tomorrow when we both have gotten some rest?"

"Were you not listening? Ulysses is on his way to the Grand Canyon. I need to stop him before he finds the New Canaanites and all hell breaks loose."

Walker slung his pack over his back and stormed out the lodge. Gaz watched him walk over to the dead Centurion and pried the machete gadius out of the body's cold fingers. He raised the curved blade high above his head and brought it down on Magnus' neck. In two solid whacks the head was separated from the body. Walker grabbed a throwing spear off one of the other bodies and impaled Gaius Magnus' head on the blade and planted the butt of the spear in the ground. Gaz's face grimaced in a look of disgust as Walker dipped his fingers in Magnus' blood and began to smear a grizzly message in Latin on the wall of the hunting lodge which said:

"_**Pro illis, qui in Caesaris fide ; **_

_** Conculcabit ad ulterius . Vos estis monuit."* **_

Walker took a deep breath and lit a cigarette. He took a big drag and exhaled a cloud. Gaz walked up behind him, she looked at the head impaled on the spear and the message written in blood.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked

Walker kept his back turned, he just kept looking at the ground, and then at his hands. They were sticky with half dried blood.

"Floyd?"

He pulled a canteen out of his pocket and slashed some water in his hands and washed the blood off.

"Come on Floyd talk to me. You can't stoop to they're level. I know that you are better than them."

"Gaz… The Geneva Convention don't apply no more. Remember how I said I got my skills? You've walked a pretty far path, no doubt. But the wasteland is about to get MEAN. And the farther we walk it's just gonna keep getting meaner and meaner and meaner. So you know what your gonna have to do? You're gonna have to get mean with it."

"Is this what Joshua would have wanted you to do?"

Walker paused. He looked at the ground and then at Gaz.

"I stand by my message here… But thank you. Maybe PreWar thinking is good for a few things… Gaz I want you to promise me something: If I forget myself, I want you to help me remember."

"Help you remember?"

"What makes me."

"Uh. Ok. I promise."

"I'm holding you to that."

Before heading out, the pair picked all the ammo and usable supplies off the dead bodies. Floyd managed to secure 40 rounds of .308 armor piercing. Gaz picked another marksman carbine off one of the bodies and compared it to her own. This carbine had a less rusted barrel, so she quickly disassembled both weapons and swapped parts. With their new looted gear in hand, they began to walk south. They walked for what seemed like hours until they came to a road leading through the Groves. The sun was beginning to set and the stars were coming out. It was dead quite, only the dull whistle of wind through the trees. Floyd stopped and looked around. He cocked his head to the side and whispered

"Shhh…"

"Do you hear something?"

"No. And that's what I'm worried about. Usually you hear a few coyotes or wild dogs howling at this time. Take a look in the trees, no bird. Even the giant rats are gone." Walker said and got down on his knees.

He placed his ear to the asphalt and listened. Gaz looked to the left and then the right, nothing in either direction.

"Something is coming. It's big. Very big."

He motioned towards a rusted out tractor trailer. The pair hid inside the rear trailer behind some rotten shipping crates. Floyd opened the grenade rifle and slid a high explosive round into the gun, them quietly snapped it shut. Gaz felt a familiar sensation in her gut, it was a cold debilitating fear that made her skin crawl and made her shake in her armor. The last time she felt fear like this was when the Mother Deathclaw was chasing her down. She clicked the safety off her carbine and looked into the scope. She scanned from left to right, nothing but trees. Then she felt the ground begin to shake. A lump formed in her throat. That's when she saw the first of them, a Deathclaw. It wasn't like the ones she had killed in the nest. It towered a full fifteen feet tall, much larger than the average Deathclaw, but smaller than a Mother. Then another appeared, and another. Striding through the trees and leaving huge four-toed foot prints in the soft ground. Walker looked into his binoculars

"What the hell are they doing here?! We are WAY too far South to be running into deathclaws." He sharply whispered

Gaz carefully observed them through the scope. She then noticed something strange on the Mutant's head. A metal headband was wrapped around each of their foreheads and a spring-like antenna was jutting out the back of it, right where their spine met their brain. She wanted to tell Floyd about the antenna, but was quickly hushed when she tried to speak. The three massive deathclaws walked in a perfect triangular formation. The one are the head of the pack stopped and sniffed the air, then looked directly at the trailer the pair was hiding in.

"He's looking right at us." Gaz said quietly through clenched teeth

"Shhh. They have terrible eye sight but good smell and hearing…."

The Deathclaw threw its head back let out three sharp yelps. As if they had been given an order, the two deathclaws behind it advanced forward towards the trailer. Gaz began to shake harder and take quick panicked breaths, the thought of the Mother Deathclaw bearing down on her kept flashing back in her head.

"Stay calm…"

Gaz was so afraid she felt sick. The two deathclaws closed in on the rusty old vehicle and began to poke their snouts around the premises, sniffing for any signs of prey. Suddenly a very frightened and mangy wild dog went shooting out of its hiding place from under the truck. The deathclaws instantly gave chase to it. The dog made it about twenty feet before one of the mutants grabbed it. The three deathclaws then growled and hissed at each other, probably over who gets the first bite. As the deathclaws argued, Walker and Gaz slipped out and made for the trees. They could hear hideous series of crunching and squishing noises as the mutants tore into the dog. The deathclaws then gave out a cheerful "hoot" when they were finished. One of the deathclaws glanced back at the truck. It had a string of blood and saliva dripping down its chin. All it took was Gaz stepping on a branch. The little snap of the twig caused the Deathclaw to slowly advance past the truck and into the woods. It took a deep breath through its nose and then roared. They had been spotted. Walker spun around and fired a 40mm HE round at the mutant. The heavy round whistled through the trees and detonated on impact with the monster's leg. It howled in pain but before it could charge him Walker opened fire with his Automatic Rifle. The deathclaw stumbled back and clutched at the bullet wounds. Walker jammed a new mag into his rifle and emptied another twenty round clip into the monster blowing off one of its arms. The two other deathclaws sprang into action, both emitting earsplitting shrieks in response to their fallen comrade. Gaz covered her ears, the image of the Mother Deathclaw attacking took over her vision. She screamed

"MAKE IT STOP!"

Floyd popped out the spent shell in his grenade rifle and loaded a fresh one. He fired at the leading mutant's knees causing it to fall face first to the forest floor. The Deathclaw behind it leaped over the leader and ran full speed at Gaz. She was frozen stiff with fear.

"GAZ! MOVE!" Floyd yelled at the top of his lungs.

The mutant cocked its arm back and heaved it forward. There was a loud metallic "Clank!" as the claws of the beast bounced off the power armor. Gaz flew back and hit a tree. The monster leaped forward to finish off Gaz, but Walker jumped between the two. He fired another 40mm HE round directly into the chest of the deathclaw mid-jump at almost point blank range. The deathclaw was pushed back from the blast and fell on its side. Walker covered his face as burning shrapnel sprayed over him. Floyd checked on Gaz, she was still breathing but had hit her head pretty hard. He pulled out his 12.7mm Survivalist Rifle and prepared to fight the remaining mutants. Both of which were injured, but now very angry. The two deathclaws straightened themselves and lunged forward at top speed. Before they could get to Walker, and before Walker could even fire, a massive black object came bounding through the trees and slammed into the deathclaws. It was the "Mother in the Forrest", the oversized Yao Guai that the feral children had told them about. The enormous mutated bear opened its huge jaws and ripped the throat out of a deathclaw. The remaining deathclaw frantically swung at the bear, it even managed to land a solid blow. But the thick pelt of the bear absorbed the impact without breaking the skin. The Mother in the Forrest reared back on her hind legs and brought her front paws down on the deathclaw and pinned it. It let out a ghastly cry of frustration before the bear bit into its neck and ripped out a mouthful of flesh. The deathclaws cries became increasingly gurgled as it's lungs filled with blood. As the final deathclaw bled to death, the bear turned to Walked. He was completely still and had his rifle lowed. The Bear turned to him and nodded its head just once, Floyd stood there astonished with his jaw hanging open. Then he too nodded, the bear then turned its back and lumbered away into the trees. Floyd then turned his attention to Gaz, her hair was matted down with blood.

"Floyd… Floyd are they dead Floyd? Please tell me they're dead…" She mumbled

"Yeah. They're dead. You are in fact very lucky to not be dead. I think you got your bell rung through…" Floyd said pulling Gaz up. He helped her into the rear trailer and made a mattress out of cardboard for her. After her made sure Gaz was safe he swallowed a few tabs of cateye in preparation for an all-night watch.

_***Authors Note: The Latin message Walker smeared on the wall translates to: "To those loyal to Caesar; tread to further. You have been warned"**_


End file.
